Regional characterization of ENSO effects on the seasonal rainfall of Sinaloa, Mexico

Abstract

Rainfall seasonality is of paramount relevance for the northwestern Mexican ecosystems. Among other factors, it is annually driven by the North American Monsoon. An outstanding yet irregular and changing factor that affects rainfall seasonality is the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its two phases, El Niño and La Niña, which can change the seasonal rainfall patterns. Here, we characterized spatially seasonal rainfall patterns of three physiographic regions of Sinaloa and adjacent states in northwestern Mexico. The covariances between El Niño and La Niña phases and their respective summer and winter rainfall amounts were estimated in each station within their regions. The magnitude of covariance was also differentiated among regions and characterized spatially. A multivariate analysis was performed to attain a simultaneous perspective of the rainfall-related variables. We detected differences among regions for the measured rainfall-related variables; altitude and longitude explained most of its spatial variation. Winter rainfall increased in all stations of El Niño and La Niña occurrence. El Niño decreased rainfall in most stations for summer, whilst La Niña increased rainfall in summer. Summer rainfall covariance with El Niño and La Niña was differentiated among regions. Latitude and longitude were correlated with the covariation between El Niño and La Niña and winter rainfall. Altitude correlated to the interaction of summer rainfall and La Niña and El Niño. Multivariate analysis segregated regions on the variation of winter, annual rainfall, number of rainfall events, and rainfall seasonality.