The Strong Association between Western Sahelian Monsoon Rainfall and Intense Atlantic Hurricanes

Abstract

Abstract Seasonal variability of Atlantic basin tropical cyclones is examined with respect to the monsoon rainfall over West Africa. Variations of intense hurricanes are of the most interest, as they are responsible for over three-quarters of United States tropical cyclone spawned destruction, though they account for only one-fifth of all landfalling cyclones. Intense hurricanes have also shown a strong downward trend during the last few decades. It is these storms that show the largest concurrent association with Africa's western Sahelian June-September rainfall for the years 1949–90. Though the Sahel is currently experiencing a multidecadal drought, the relationship between Atlantic tropical cyclones and western Sahelian rainfall is not dependent on the similar downward trends in both datasets. A detrended analysis confirms that a strong association still exists, though reduced somewhat in variance explained. Additionally, independent data from the years 1899 to 1948 substantiate the existence of the tr...