Abstract
Peninsular Florida (PF) has a very distinct wet season that can be objectively defined with onset and demise dates based on daily rainfall. The dramatic onset of rains and its retreat coincides with the seasonal cycle of the regional scale atmospheric and upper ocean circulations and upper ocean heat content of the immediate surrounding ocean. The gradual warming of the Intra-Americas Seas (IAS; includes Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and parts of northwestern subtropical Atlantic Ocean) with the seasonal evolution of the Loop Current and increased atmospheric heat flux in to the ocean eventually enhance the moisture flux into terrestrial PF around the time of the onset of the Rainy Season of PF (RSPF). Similarly, the RSPF retreats with the cooling of the IAS that coincides with the weakening of the Loop Current and reduction of the upper ocean heat content of the IAS. It is also shown that anomalous onset and demise dates of the RSPF have implications on its seasonal rainfall anomalies.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support given by NOAA (NA12OAR4310078), the Earth System Science Organization, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India (Grant Number MM/SERP/FSU/2014/SSC-02/002) to conduct this research under Monsoon Mission and the South Florida Water Management District (PO 039231).
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Misra, V., Bhardwaj, A. & Mishra, A. Characterizing the rainy season of Peninsular Florida. Clim Dyn 51, 2157–2167 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-4005-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-4005-2