Environmental Factors Controlling the Precipitation in California

Abstract

Using observational data covering 1948–2020, the environmental factors controlling the winter precipitation in California were investigated. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was applied to identify the dominant climate regimes contributing to the precipitation. The first EOF mode described a consistent change, with 70.1% variance contribution, and the second mode exhibited a south–east dipole change, with 11.7% contribution. For EOF1, the relationship was positive between PC1(principal component) and SST (sea surface temperature) in the central Pacific Ocean, while it was negative with SST in the southeast Indian Ocean. The Pacific–North America mode, induced by the positive SST and precipitation in the central Pacific Ocean, leads to California being occupied by southwesterlies, which would transport warm and wet flow from the ocean, beneficial for precipitation. As for the negative relationship, California is controlled by biotrophically high pressure, representing part of the Rossby wave train induced by the positive SST in the Indian ocean, which is unfavorable for the precipitation. For EOF2, California is controlled by positive vorticity at the upper level, whereas at the lower level, there is positive vorticity to the south and negative vorticity to the north, the combination of which leads to the dipole mode change in the precipitation.