CLIMATOLOGY OF STATEWIDE EXTREME TEMPERATURES DURING WINTER MONTHS IN THE COTERMINOUS UNITED STATES

Abstract

A 20-year (1961-1980) record of statewide extreme maximum and minimum temperatures for the winter season is examined for the coterminous United States. Extreme maxima exhibit a zonal pattern, modified somewhat by terrain features in the west. Extreme minima are more dramatically skewed from a zonal orientation, because of the effects of elevation and proximity to oceans. Interannual variability in the record of extreme temperatures appears to be dictated by proximity to air-mass source regions (e.g., low variability of minima in the Upper Midwest, low variability of maxima in the Deep South) and sensitivity to the position and amplitude of mid-tropospheric circulation and snowpack dynamics (e.g., high variability of minima in the Ohio Valley). Strong, spatially coherent patterns of correlation between statewide extremes and amplitude of midtropospheric flow are evident (negative correlation with enhanced troughing in the east; positive correlation with enhanced ridging in the west). Lag correlations with ENSO indices suggest a relatively weak linkage between antecedent conditions in the Pacific and the degree of extremeness of maximum (but not minimum) temperatures in the eastern United States. [Key words: extreme maximum temperatures, extreme minimum temperatures, climatic variability, meridionality indices, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, snowpack.]