Recent ENSO–PDO precipitation relationships in the Mediterranean California border region

The Mediterranean California Border Region (MCBR) rainfall's relationship with El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is reexamined for the period 1951–2014. When stratifying data by ENSO events we found that strong events of either sign yield the highest ENSO–rainfall correlation; but when the stratification was done by rainfall the wet seasons yield the highest ENSO–rainfall correlation. Most strong ENSO events have the same sign as PDO; but the ENSO–rainfall correlation for all ENSO–PDO same-sign events is almost undistinguishable from the full-record's correlation. Timewise stratification shows that 30-year climatological values (MCBR precipitation, PDO and ENSO) and ENSO–rainfall correlations have decreased in recent years.

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