Regional and temporal variations in heavy precipitation in south carolina

✍ Scribed by David Changnon

• Book ID: 102911275
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 862 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0899-8418
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.3370140204

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Daily precipitation amounts greater than 50 mm from long‐term weather stations in South Carolina were analysed in order to determine their seasonal and annual frequencies and spatial variability. Year to year, the annual amount of precipitation produced by heavy rainfalls was not well correlated between stations ( –0.10≤r≤ + 0.65). The seasonal analysis detected three heavy precipitation regimes: (i) the mountainous region in western South Carolina with a winter maximum; (ii) the coastal plain with a distinct summer maximum; and (iii) the region in between with a summer‐autumn maximum. Such results indicate that site‐specific data should be used to examine large daily precipitation amounts rather than regionally averaged data because the primary four climatic and synoptic controls that create heavy precipitation vary considerably across South Carolina. Temporal analyses of the site‐specific, annual, large daily precipitation amounts and regional average annual precipitation showed generally weak to moderate correlations (+0.25 ≤r ≤0.57), indicating that interannual changes in annual precipitation are not well related to changes in annual contributions due to large daily precipitation amounts. Differences between regional wet and dry decadal periods were associated with significant changes in the annual large daily precipitation amounts at some but not all stations, indicating that similar long‐term changes cannot be assumed across a region as small as South Carolina. This information is useful to water managers and has potential utility for estimating conditions in a changing climate.