The main purpose of this study was to relate the rainfall in eastern Northeast Brazil (NEB) with the sea surface temperature (SST) in the Atlantic (Dipole area) and Pacific oceans during the 1945-1985 period. This analysis shows how anomalous SST events influence precipitation in the eastern part of NEB, from the states of Rio Grande do Norte through to Bahia. The main significant results were: in years with a negative temperature gradient in the Atlantic, the rainfall was below the long term mean in Rio Grande do Norte (84%) and Paraíba (74%); in years with neutral gradient, the rainfall was normal or above normal in Paraíba (73%); in years with positive temperature gradient (south minus north), hereby called favorable gradient, the rainfall was above the long term mean, in Alagoas (73%), Sergipe (73%) and Bahia (73%).
sea surface temperature (SST); precipitation; Northeast of Brazil; dipole
