Relationships between seasonal rainfall in East Africa and the Southern Oscillation

✍ Scribed by Ogallo, L. J.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1988
• Weight: 613 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 2314-6214
• DOI: 10.1002/joc.3370080104

✦ Synopsis

Tcleconnections bctween the Southcrn Oscillation and scasonal rainfall over East Africa during thc pcriod 1923 19x4 were invcstigated using correlation methods. Thc results from the study indicated significant negative zero lapcorrelations between Southcrn Oscillation and seasonal rainfall over parts of East Africa during thc months of October Dcccmbcr. Maximum corrclations wcrc conccntratcd along thc coast and over some wcstcrn parts. Peak valucs in thc range -0.6 were, however. centred along central and northern coastal regions.During the months of July Septcmbcr significant positivc xcro lag corrclations in the rangc of 0.5 wcrc obscrvcd over some western parts. Low zero lag correlations were, however, obtained over most ofthc rcgions with the January May and annual rainfall records. The computcd lagged correlation values displayed characteristics similar to those obscrvcd from the zero lag correlations. Highcst month to month pcrsistences were again centred within OctoberiNovember when significant lag correlations persisted for time lags greater than 2 months at some locations.It was, howcvcr, noted that although there werc somc relationships bctwccn thc Southern Oscillation and seasonal rainfall over parts of East Africa. some of the extrenic wet and dry episodes were not related to the Southern Oscillation.KEY W ~K D S Southcrn Oscillatlon Factor analysis Correlation Fast Africa.