Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
Winter snowfall, particularly lake-contributed snowfall, has a significant impact on the society and environment in the Great Lakes regions including transportation, tourism, agriculture, and ecosystem. Understanding the inter-annual variability of snowfall will provide sound basis for local communi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2021.746354/full |
| _version_ | 1830199713797767168 |
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| author | Lei Meng Bandhan Dutta Ayon Nirjala Koirala Kathleen M. Baker |
| author_facet | Lei Meng Bandhan Dutta Ayon Nirjala Koirala Kathleen M. Baker |
| author_sort | Lei Meng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Winter snowfall, particularly lake-contributed snowfall, has a significant impact on the society and environment in the Great Lakes regions including transportation, tourism, agriculture, and ecosystem. Understanding the inter-annual variability of snowfall will provide sound basis for local community safety management and reduce its environmental impacts on agriculture and ecosystems. This study attempts to understand the trend and inter-annual variability in snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (LPM) using statistical analysis based on snowfall measurements from eight weather stations. Our study demonstrates that snowfall has significantly increased from 1932 to 2015. Correlation analysis suggests that regional average air temperatures have a strong negative relationship with snowfall in the LPM. On average, approximately 27% of inter-annual variability in snowfall can be explained by regional average air temperatures. ENSO events are also negatively related to snowfall in the LPM and can explain ~8% of inter-annual variability. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) does not have strong influence on snowfall. Composite analysis demonstrates that on an annual basis, more snowfall occurs during the years with higher maximum ice cover (MIC) than during the years with lower MIC in Lake Michigan. Higher MIC is often associated with lower air temperatures which are negatively related to snowfall. This study could provide insight on future snow related climate model improvement and weather forecasting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T02:18:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-173985e8c7c14debb8670d466ff9625c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T02:18:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-173985e8c7c14debb8670d466ff9625c2022-12-21T21:24:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Water2624-93752021-11-01310.3389/frwa.2021.746354746354Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of MichiganLei MengBandhan Dutta AyonNirjala KoiralaKathleen M. BakerWinter snowfall, particularly lake-contributed snowfall, has a significant impact on the society and environment in the Great Lakes regions including transportation, tourism, agriculture, and ecosystem. Understanding the inter-annual variability of snowfall will provide sound basis for local community safety management and reduce its environmental impacts on agriculture and ecosystems. This study attempts to understand the trend and inter-annual variability in snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (LPM) using statistical analysis based on snowfall measurements from eight weather stations. Our study demonstrates that snowfall has significantly increased from 1932 to 2015. Correlation analysis suggests that regional average air temperatures have a strong negative relationship with snowfall in the LPM. On average, approximately 27% of inter-annual variability in snowfall can be explained by regional average air temperatures. ENSO events are also negatively related to snowfall in the LPM and can explain ~8% of inter-annual variability. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) does not have strong influence on snowfall. Composite analysis demonstrates that on an annual basis, more snowfall occurs during the years with higher maximum ice cover (MIC) than during the years with lower MIC in Lake Michigan. Higher MIC is often associated with lower air temperatures which are negatively related to snowfall. This study could provide insight on future snow related climate model improvement and weather forecasting.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2021.746354/fullsnowfallinter-annual variabilityLake Michigantrendmaximum ice coverENSO |
| spellingShingle | Lei Meng Bandhan Dutta Ayon Nirjala Koirala Kathleen M. Baker Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan Frontiers in Water snowfall inter-annual variability Lake Michigan trend maximum ice cover ENSO |
| title | Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
| title_full | Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
| title_fullStr | Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
| title_short | Inter-annual Variability of Snowfall in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan |
| title_sort | inter annual variability of snowfall in the lower peninsula of michigan |
| topic | snowfall inter-annual variability Lake Michigan trend maximum ice cover ENSO |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2021.746354/full |
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