The Correlation between Temperature and Precipitation in the United States and Europe

Roland A. Madden National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo. 80307

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Jill Williams International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria

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Abstract

The correlation between seasonal mean temperatures and precipitation totals is computed at some 98 North American and European stations. Negative correlation is most frequent in summers, while negative and positive correlation appear about equally in other seasons. Normalized cospectra show that these correlation do not, in general, reflect a relationship common to a single time scale but rather one that is prevalent at all time scales.

Abstract

The correlation between seasonal mean temperatures and precipitation totals is computed at some 98 North American and European stations. Negative correlation is most frequent in summers, while negative and positive correlation appear about equally in other seasons. Normalized cospectra show that these correlation do not, in general, reflect a relationship common to a single time scale but rather one that is prevalent at all time scales.

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