Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
In this study, the Lepage test, a nonparametnc 2-sample test, was used to statistically analyze annual and seasonal temperatures for the 344 climate divisions in the conterminous United States for the years 1895 through 1989 The objectives of the study were to (1) identify statistically significant changes in annual and seasonal temperatures, (2) determine durlng which seasons the most dramatic changes in temperature occurred, (3) d e t e r m ~n e the spatial distribution of significant changes in temperature and (4) determine whether significant regional temperature changes represented gradual or abrupt changes The analysis ind~cated that abrupt and significant changes in annual a n d seasonal temperatures occurred near 1930 and 1958, and that these changes occurred over large parts of the conterminous United States Othei significant and abrupt changes in seasonal temperatures occurred d u n n g the summer near 1917 and 1943, and during the autumn near 1948 and 1964 Temperatures dur-Ing the summer season exhibited the most frequent and widespread signlf~cant changes The results of this study suggest that s~gnificant changes in reg~onal temperature occur abruptly as opposed to giadual uniform changes In a d d ~t ~o n , the changes In temperature were spat~ally evtensive and appeal to be associated with changes in atmospheric c ~r c u l a t ~o n
Yonetani et al. (Sat,) studied this question.