Spatial characterization of Zimbabwe summer rainfall during the period 1920-1996: pages 430-31

Spatial patterns of inter-annual summer rainfall variability over Zimbabwe are investigated using principal component analysis for the period 1920-96. Inter-annual rainfall anomalies for all years and stratified according to warm El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are used in the study. The varimax rotated PC loadings subdivide the country into three regions, north, southwest and southeast. Because of the high correlation between two of the regions, only two regions, north and south, consistent with the underlying physical processes are retained. The two leading PCs are consistent with the main rain-producing synoptic weather systems affecting the country during austral summer. Inter-comparison of the rainfall anomaly time series from the two regions reveals that the major controlling factors influencing inter-annual rainfall variability are possibly of a global or hemispheric nature. The spatially coherent regions have practical use in the development and application of long-range seasonal climate forecasts and climate change studies. The file associated with this record contains pages 430-31 of this article