Changes in the Proportion of Precipitation Occurring as Snow in New England (1949–2000)

Abstract The ratio of snow to total precipitation (S/P) is a hydrologic indicator that is sensitive to climate variability and can be used to detect and monitor hydrologic responses to climatic change. Changes in S/P ratio over time could influence the magnitude and timing of spring runoff and recession to summer baseflow. The S/P ratio for 21 U.S. Historical Climatology Network sites in New England was examined. Eleven out of twenty-one sites in New England had significant decreasing annual S/P ratios from 1949 to 2000. Annual trends in S/P are predominantly a result of decreasing snowfall, and to a lesser extent, increasing rainfall. The most consistent trends were in northernmost New England where all four sites had decreasing ratios, and in the coastal and near-coastal areas where five out of eight sites had significantly decreasing ratios. The four sites in northernmost New England, which had the strongest and most coherent trends, showed an average decrease in annual S/P ratio from about 0.30 in 194...

[1]  L. Hamilton,et al.  Warming winters and New Hampshire’s lost ski areas: an integrated case study , 2003 .

[2]  J. Wallace,et al.  Teleconnections in the Geopotential Height Field during the Northern Hemisphere Winter , 1981 .

[3]  C. Wake,et al.  The Influence of Regional Storm Tracking and Teleconnections on Winter Precipitation in the Northeastern United States , 2003 .

[4]  Douglas L. Kane,et al.  Siberian Lena River hydrologic regime and recent change , 2002 .

[5]  J. Houghton,et al.  Climate change 2001 : the scientific basis , 2001 .

[6]  Richard R. Heim,et al.  Recent Variations of Snow Cover and Snowfall in North America and Their Relation to Precipitation and Temperature Variations , 1993 .

[7]  O. Hoegh‐Guldberg,et al.  Ecological responses to recent climate change , 2002, Nature.

[8]  T. Huntington,et al.  Changes in the timing of high river flows in New England over the 20th Century , 2003 .

[9]  Ellen J. Cooter,et al.  Recent frost date trends in the north‐eastern USA , 1995 .

[10]  S. Dingman,et al.  NEW ENGLAND DROUGHT AND RELATIONS WITH LARGE SCALE ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION PATTERNS 1 , 2002 .

[11]  Claude N. Williams,et al.  An Approach to Adjusting Climatological Time Series for Discontinuous Inhomogeneities , 1987 .

[12]  W. Baron,et al.  B846: Growing Season Parameter Reconstructions for New England Using Killing Frost Records, 1697-1947 , 1996 .

[13]  Gerald A. Meehl,et al.  Preparing for a changing climate : the potential consequences of climate variability and change , 2001 .

[14]  Michael J. Keables,et al.  Synoptic associations of winter climate and snowfall variability in New England, USA, 1950–1992 , 1998 .

[15]  Thomas R. Karl,et al.  Heavy Precipitation and High Streamflow in the Contiguous United States: Trends in the Twentieth Century. , 2001 .

[16]  H. Diaz,et al.  Urbanization: Its Detection and Effect in the United States Climate Record , 1988 .

[17]  M. Dettinger,et al.  Changes in the Onset of Spring in the Western United States , 2001 .

[18]  D. Helsel,et al.  Statistical methods in water resources , 2020, Techniques and Methods.

[19]  Ross D. Brown,et al.  Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover Variability and Change, 1915-97. , 2000 .

[20]  T. Huntington,et al.  Historical Trend in River Ice Thickness and Coherence in Hydroclimatological Trends in Maine , 2003 .

[21]  K. Wolter,et al.  Measuring the strength of ENSO events: How does 1997/98 rank? , 1998 .

[22]  L. Mearns,et al.  The Influence of the North Atlantic–Arctic Oscillation on Mean, Variance, and Extremes of Temperature in the Northeastern United States and Canada , 2002 .

[23]  Claude N. Williams,et al.  A Model to Estimate the Time of Observation Bias Associated with Monthly Mean Maximum, Minimum and Mean Temperatures for the United States , 1986 .

[24]  Rory M.M. Leith,et al.  EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS ON THE HYDROLOGY OF STREAMS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL BC , 1998 .

[25]  S. Schneider,et al.  Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants , 2003, Nature.

[26]  James W. Hurrell,et al.  The North Atlantic Oscillation: Climate Significance and Environmental Impact , 2003 .

[27]  J. Wallace,et al.  Regional Climate Impacts of the Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode , 2001, Science.

[28]  D. Easterling.  Recent Changes in Frost Days and the Frost-Free Season in the United States , 2002 .

[29]  G. Yohe,et al.  A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems , 2003, Nature.

[30]  C. Wake,et al.  U.S. East Coast Trough Indices at 500 hPa and New England Winter Climate Variability , 2002 .

[31]  Thomas R. Karl,et al.  Secular Trends of Precipitation Amount, Frequency, and Intensity in the United States , 1998 .

[32]  N. Arnell,et al.  Hydrology and water resources , 2001 .

[33]  Mark D. Schwartz,et al.  Changes in North American spring , 2000 .

[34]  James W. Hurrell,et al.  The North Atlantic Oscillation: Past, present, and future , 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  Trends in Streamflow, River Ice, and Snowpack for Coastal River Basins in Maine During the 20th Century , 2005 .

[36]  David R. Easterling,et al.  United States Historical Climatology Network (US HCN) monthly temperature and precipitation data , 1996 .

[37]  J. Wallace,et al.  A Pacific Interdecadal Climate Oscillation with Impacts on Salmon Production , 1997 .

[38]  Elizabeth L. Chalecki,et al.  A FRAMEWORK OF ORDERED CLIMATE EFFECTS ON WATER RESOURCES: A COMPREHENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 , 1999 .

[39]  T. Huntington,et al.  Are there spurious temperature trends in the United States Climate Division database? , 2003 .

[40]  I. C. James,et al.  Historical changes in lake ice‐out dates as indicators of climate change in New England, 1850–2000 , 2002 .

[41]  D. Winkler,et al.  Climate change has affected the breeding date of tree swallows throughout North America , 1999, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[42]  A. Dai,et al.  Surface Observed Global Land Precipitation Variations during 1900-88 , 1997 .