| Abstract: | A comparative evaluation is made of the frequency of air mass and frontal types during a 4-year representative portion of the drought as opposed to an equivalent non-drought period. Selection of the non-drought period is based on the Palmer Drought Index. Results indicate a statistically significant increase in the occurrence of continental polar air during the drought. Other conclusions concerning conditions during the drought, not statistically significant but worth further study, are: lower frequency of maritime tropical air in the summer months, more occurrences of cold and occluded fronts, and fewer occurrences of stationary fronts. |
