US Gulf Coast tropical cyclone precipitation influenced by volcanism and the North Atlantic subtropical high

Instrumental records of tropical cyclone precipitation (TCP) are too short to capture the full range of variability in seasonal totals. This study presents a 473-year-long tree-ring proxy record from longleaf pine in southern Mississippi, USA, to reconstruct TCP back to 1540 CE. The reconstruction reveals significant declines in TCP in the two years following large Northern Hemisphere volcanic eruptions and shows an influence from the North Atlantic subtropical high-pressure system. A weak but significant correlation with Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) is also observed. The authors call for a network of TCP reconstructions across the southeastern USA to better understand regional tropical cyclone behavior and associated flood risks.

Joshua C. Bregy, Justin T. Maxwell, Scott M. Robeson, Grant L. Harley, Emily A. Elliott, Karen J. Heeter