While many regions of the world show clear influence from ocean teleconnections (El Nino Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole) on seasonal precipitation, the Sierra Nevada have never been shown to have a strong influence. Given the increasing importance of our freshwater resources and need for seasonal outlooks and forecast accuracy, it's time to revisit ocean telecconnection controls on Sierra Nevada precipitation. This project will use geospatial datasets of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and precipitation quantity in the Sierra Nevada mountains to establish correlations and/or causal relationships between ocean teleconnections and Sierra Nevada rain/snow. These relationships will then be used to create a model of seasonal Sierra Nevada precipitation. This work will include long-term analysis as ocean teleconnections exist at long temporal scales (annual to decadal).
