Sub-regional seasonal precipitation linkages to SOI and PDO in the Southwest United States

This paper highlights the relationship between precipitation variability at the sub-regional level in the Southwest United States and the SOI and PDO climate teleconnection indices during the period 1950–2000. Statistical correlations at α = 0.05 and 0.01 levels are calculated for fall, winter, and spring precipitation in the Southwest, and contemporaneous and antecedent seasonal SOI and PDO index values. A strong SOI-winter precipitation signal is seen to progress across Arizona and New Mexico from southwest to northeast over a three-season lagged period. The PDO also exhibits a strong relationship with winter and spring precipitation in New Mexico; however, the PDO is not well correlated with precipitation in Arizona. The results underscore the non-uniform spatio-temporal relationships of the SOI and PDO indices as they relate to the precipitation regime of the Southwest, and provide a framework for future diagnostic analyses of these relationships.