Understanding the Drivers of Connected Extreme Precipitation Events
Abstract
Our understanding of sequences or co-occurrences of extreme weather events has advanced significantly in the past few years. While climatologies of such connected events have been produced and analyzed, less attention has been paid to the underlying connecting processes. With a focus on extreme precipitation, we present results of an observation and modeling study to explore the physical mechanisms that drive connected events across the US. We first apply a metric of temporal cohesion to historical analysis data to identify hotspots of connected extreme precipitation events across the US. We then present atmosphere-only climate simulations run at different resolutions to identify what scales are most important for resolving these hotspots. Finally, we identify specific episodes of connected events within the hotspots and use targeted climate model simulations to explore the multi-scale environment within which they occurred. This work contributes to the project Connected Extremes in Space and Time (COEXIST) that seeks to understand spatiotemporal connections across extreme wet and dry events, and how such connections may extend predictability.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022AGUFMNH41A..08D