18. Mid Summer Drought
The intensity and location of the ITCZ has also an intra-seasonal variation. There’s a diminution of rain in July and August called the Mid Summer Drought (MSD)
Why?
ITCZ blocks the solar radiation over the Warm Pool in the southern coast of Mexico,
The SST decreases, the SST meridional gradient decreases, and the ITCZ moves southward giving origin to the MSD. Once the sky is clear over the coast of Mexico, the solar radiation reaches increases the SST, and the ITCZ has energy again to move northward.