Seasonal Shifts in the Western US Hydroclimate
Abstract
The hydroclimate of Western United States is strongly seasonal, and secular changes can have considerable economic and environmental impacts. Long-term station observations are used to assess seasonal and monthly changes in precipitation over the last 50 years. During winter, increasing rainfall trends over California and decreasing trends in the Pacific Northwest (drier wet season) are observed. However, trends in the shoulder months - Oct-Nov and March-April - are opposite to the winter pattern, resulting in a shifting north-south orientated precipitation dipole throughout the rainy season. Trends since the 1980s suggest wetter late winter periods over California and a later termination of the precipitation season. On the other hand, a later start and later end of the precipitation season is noticed over the Pacific Northwest.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFMGC14B..07L
- Keywords:
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- 1616 Climate variability;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1626 Global climate models;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1655 Water cycles;
- GLOBAL CHANGE