Reply to "Comments on 'Changes to the North Atlantic Subtropical High and Its Role in the Intensification of Summer Rainfall Variability in the Southeastern United States'"

Recently Diem questioned the western ridge movement of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH) reported in a 2011 paper of Li et al. This reply shows more analysis that further strengthens the conclusions originally put forth by Li et al. Diem's analysis of the trend in the western ridge of theNASH was based on the data over a 30-yr period (1978-2007), whereas the main conclusions in Li et al. were drawn according to the data over a 60-yr period (1948-2007). Over the last 60 years, the NASH has shown a significant trend of westward movement, the meridional movement of the western ridgeof the NASH has enhanced in the recent three decades, and the potential impact of global warming cannot be ruled out in an attempt to explain these changes of the NASH.