Campus Units
Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Agronomy
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
10-2008
Journal or Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
35
Issue
20
First Page
L20710
DOI
10.1029/2008GL035516
Abstract
We analyze regional climate model (RCM) simulations of daily, spatially distributed extreme precipitation events, using co-operative network observations and output from 10-year RCM simulations of present and future-scenario climates. We examine an Upper Mississippi River Basin region during October–March for daily amounts that exceed the 99.95th percentile and that occur simultaneously at several observation sites or model grid points. For the observations and each simulation, nearly all such extreme regional events occur when a slow moving, cut-off-low system develops over the Rockies and Great Plains and steadily pumps moisture into the Upper Mississippi region from the Gulf of Mexico. The threshold for the extreme events increases in the future scenario by an amount similar to the increase in saturation specific humidity. The results suggest robust circulation behavior for such extremes in the face of climate change.
Copyright Owner
American Geophysical Union
Copyright Date
2008
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Gutowski, William J. Jr.; Willis, Stephanie S.; Patton, Jason C.; Schwedler, Benjamin R. J.; Arritt, Raymond W.; and Takle, Eugene S., "Changes in extreme, cold-season synoptic precipitation events under global warming" (2008). Geological and Atmospheric Sciences Publications. 74.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ge_at_pubs/74
Comments
This article is from Geophysical Research Letters 35 (2008): L20710, doi:10.1029/2008GL035516. Posted with permission.