## 4 Discussion
### Precipitation and River Discharge Spatiotemporal Patterns Induced by TC Impacts  
Our analysis shows the dynamic relationship between TC strength and landing location in regulating precipitation throughout the YP's diverse regional climates [55; 104]. Wilma (H4) was a \"rainmaker\" causing extraordinary rainfall in the northeastern YP associated to the largest radii of moderate (\(\geq\)63 km/h) and strong (\(\geq\)119 km/h) wind speeds (Figure 7); its slow motion (\(\leq\)12 km/h) provided enough exposure and caused not only more vegetation loss and changes in the Chl-_a_ distribution (see section below) but also heavy rainfall when compared to TC precipitable water, a metric of moisture content in the atmosphere [106; 107]. Wilma's precipitable water ranged from 50-60 mm, which is larger than the average value considered to be a boundary favorable to TC rainfall production. While Wilma's rainfall highly correlated with high rain-gauge observations (400-500 mm in five days), maximum accumulations (300-500 mm) associated with Stan were also observed elsewhere over the Isthmus of Flheuantepec, Guatem, and portions of the EPAC and GOM. In contrast, a drier environment was present during the passage of Emily (35-45 mm in precipitable water) and Dean's (38-60 mm), with limited rainfall accumulations (50-150 mm) throughout the YP. A recent spatiotemporal assessment shows three distinctive precipitation clusters using data from 1980-2011, highlighting the regulatory effect of climatic variability across the YP [104]. These observed clusters show regions with the lowest precipitation values in the northern YP and the highest values in the southwest and southeast [55; 104]. Preliminary climate modeling results at the regional scale indicate that the driest of the semi-arid climates will extend along the northern YP where a warmer climate might occur along the western and central sections of the peninsula [102]. How these local climates and associated precipitation will change as temperature increases at the regional scale by 2050 is unknown, especially as climate is modified by pulsing TCs. Further, the explicit simulation of TCs in climate models is still limited due to validation and the implementation and development of robust downscaling techniques [100; 101; 108]. The most recent downscaling estimates indicate that the YP will experience more extreme climatic events, including increasing TC frequency and intensification [102]. Because of the YP karstic geomorphic origin and low topography, not all the precipitation is diverted into watersheds and most infiltrate into extensive aquifers [38; 109]. The large Champion River catchment area is the only well-defined watershed in the YP where the Canasayab gauge station measures river discharge. We used discharge data from the station to evaluate the interaction among the TC landing area, trajectory, total rainfall, and cloud cover in influencing surface runoff timing and magnitude. This runoff, along with submarine discharge, has a significant impact on coastal primary productivity due to potential nutrient export (e.g., nitrogen; [39]) as observed overall in the YP and other coastal systems (e.g., [42]). Despite the differences in strength and trajectories, Stan and Wilma produced almost the same net discharge (272 m\({}^{3}\)/s) (Figure 8). This discharge rate was almost three times higher than the value estimated from the 1956-2014 average baseline. In the case of Stan, the maximum discharge occurred 9 days after landing while the maximum for Wilma was also recorded within 9 days but before the storm's landing. This delay underscores the asynchrony between the landing time and the net water discharge controlled by the storm path and acceleration while crossing the YP. Comparatively, the maximum net river discharge caused by Emily (52 m\({}^{3}\)/s) and Dean (23 m\({}^{3}\)/s) was lower than those from the other storms at the landing time.