News Finding: "The interhemispheric teleconnection that we have discovered promises earlier and more accurate prediction of winter precipitation in California and the southwestern U.S.," said study co-author Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, UCI Distinguished Professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Paper Finding: SOI, in contrast, had the strongest correlation with winter precipitation of all the ENSO indices ( Fig.
News Context: "The interhemispheric teleconnection that we have discovered promises earlier and more accurate prediction of winter precipitation in California and the southwestern U.S.," said study co-author Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, UCI Distinguished Professor of civil and environmental engineering. "Knowing how much rain to expect in the coming winter is crucial for the economy, water security and ecosystem management of the region." This prompts a commensurate anomaly east of the Philippine Islands, which, in turn, results in a strengthening or weakening of the jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere, having a direct influence on the amount of rain that falls on California between November and March.
Paper Context: Niño 3 exhibited statistically insignificant correlation for the Jul-Sep interval (at α = 0.05 significance level), indicating that eastern Pacific SSTs may not be effective for SWUS precipitation prediction. SOI, in contrast, had the strongest correlation with winter precipitation of all the ENSO indices ( Fig. 2b ), suggesting that atmospheric pressure variations across the tropical central/ western Pacific may be more effective for prediction than SSTderived indices.