El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is known to have a significant impact on climate across the Pacific, including Hawai‘i, and adjacent continents.
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is known to have a significant impact on climate across the Pacific, including Hawai‘i, and adjacent continents. However, new research led by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa atmospheric scientists revealed that the Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM), another climate pattern that operates in the eastern Pacific Ocean, plays a major role in the variability of rainfall in Hawai‘i. Their study was published recently in the Journal of Climate.
“Our study suggests that although El Niño emerges as the primary driver of winter rainfall variability in Hawai‘i, the Pacific Meridional Mode has a pivotal role in spring rainfall, particularly for Maui and the Island of Hawai‘i,” said Pao-Shin Chu, study co-author, professor of atmospheric sciences in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and Hawai‘i State Climatologist.
“Importantly, our analysis disentangles the respective roles of ENSO and the PMM in driving rainfall variability across seasons and types of weather disturbance in Hawai‘i,” said lead author Bo-Yi Lu, who was an atmospheric sciences doctoral student in SOEST at the time of this research. “These findings not only deepen our understanding of regional climate dynamics but also offer valuable insights for water resource management and disaster preparedness in Hawai‘i and beyond.”
Read more at University of Hawaii at Manoa
Image: Rainforest Hike in Kauai (Credit: Heath Cajandig, licensed under CC BY 2.0.)
