Gj. Connor et M. Bonell, AIR-MASS AND DYNAMIC PARAMETERS AFFECTING TRADE-WIND PRECIPITATION ONTHE NORTHEAST QUEENSLAND TROPICAL COAST, International journal of climatology, 18(12), 1998, pp. 1357-1372
Daily precipitation data for 21 rainfall reporting stations along the
northeast Queensland tropical coast were collated for a period of 168
days during periods of sustained trade wind flow. Parameters that may
influence precipitation were classified as either characteristic of th
e prevailing air mass or dynamic in nature. Parameters that displayed
a high correlation with daily precipitation were derived by combining
air mass and dynamic parameters. Dynamic parameters displayed stronger
relationships with trade flow rainfall than upstream air mass indicat
ors, with synoptic scale coastal forcing predominating. Derived parame
ters involving a combination of air mass and dynamic parameters provid
ed the best individual indicators of daily precipitation with a linear
correlation of up to 0.74 and 0.70 for regionalized and individual st
ation daily rainfall, respectively. Linear regression techniques are u
sed to develop five-parameter multivariate equations sourced from 1525
potential parameters. For the developmental data, the resulting equat
ions account for 65 and up to 58% of the variance of regionalized and
individual station daily rainfall, respectively. A 53 day trial test,
using these equations on independent data produced a linear correlatio
n of 0.83 and 0.68 for regionalized and individual station daily rainf
all, respectively. (C) 1998 Royal Meteorological Society.