An emerging impact of Eurasian spring snow cover on summer rainfall in Eastern China

Abstract

Eurasian spring snow cover is widely considered as an important predictor of Asian summer monsoon rainfall, but its possible role in the formation of the north–south dipole structure of rainfall anomalies (NSDR)—a major mode of the eastern China summer rainfall variability—remains elusive. Here, we show that, there is a close connection between the western Eurasian spring snow cover (WESS) and NSDR during our research period 1967–2018, with less WESS tends to be accompanied by a wetter south-drier north pattern over eastern China, and vice versa. However, this relationship was not significant before the late 1990s, but has since become significant. Further analyses demonstrate that the shift in the WESS–NSDR relationship could be attributed to the modulation of summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO). After the late 1990s, the WESS-related anomalous atmospheric circulations during summer are largely reinforced by the constructive superposition of those with same signs induced by SNAO, which in turn would intensify the impact of WESS and hence lead to a strong WESS–NSDR connection. In contrast, the influences of WESS are counteracted by those with opposite signs associated with SNAO before the late 1990s and thereby result in a weak snow–rainfall relationship. Our findings, along with the decline in Eurasian spring snow cover, provide a potential explanation for the recent ‘South Flood–North Drought’ pattern observed over eastern China.

Keywords

• Eurasian snow cover
• Eastern China summer rainfall
• summer North Atlantic Oscillation
• emerging impact