Interplay Between Local Rainfall Patterns and Subtropical Indian Ocean Anticyclone Dynamics
Authors
ABDUL JAMEEL KHAN, KAMRAN KHAN and ABSAR AHMED
Abstract
The main objective of this study is to explore the relationship between average rainfall over the 15 districts of Victoria, Australia, for individual months of winter (MJJA) season and respective mean sea level pressure fields over the Indian Ocean and the western Australian region for the period of 1951 to 2015. It was found that dry conditions from May to August were associated with high-pressure systems that occupied large areas around the 20S to 35S over the Indian Ocean and the continent over the era. It also found that the occurrence (frequency) or interval of time of high-pressure systems tended to decrease gradually from May to August which enabled rainfall to increase gradually from May to August over the state. During the wet conditions below 1016 hpa pressure fields observed over most of the Indian Ocean and the Australian region, these low-pressure systems caused more rainfall over the state. During normal rainfall conditions very slight to negligible pressure departures are observed over the Indian Ocean and the western Australian region which maintained the rainfall at the average scale over the state. This analysis explores the relationship between monthly sea level pressure patterns and the district average winter (MJJA) rainfall over Victoria, Australia.
Keywords: Victoria’s Rainfall, Winter Precipitation, Indian Ocean High (IOH), Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP), Cool Season (MJJA), Center of Action Approach (COA).