Extreme precipitation over Southeastern Brazil in the austral summer and relations with the Southern Hemisphere annular mode

Abstract

Southeastern Brazil is a highly industrialized and populated region which largely contributes to the country's economy. Extreme precipitation over this region can cause floods and landslides occurrences or lack of precipitation that can affect many sectors of economy. The objective of this work is to identify atmospheric characteristics associated with austral summer extreme precipitation over part of Southeastern Brazil. The atmospheric characteristics obtained from wet and dry composites suggest that extreme precipitation was associated with anomalous circulation over the region, forced by a PSA-like wavetrain intensified by the Southern Annular Mode. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society.