Atmospheric rivers

Atmospheric Rivers and Flooding in California’s Changing Hydroclimate

Alexander Gershunov, Benjamin Hatchett, Alexander Weyant, Michael Dettinger, Lu Su, Alan Rhoades, Park Williams, Michael Anderson, Pamela Rittelmeyer, Dennis Lettenmaier, Daniel Cayan, Rosa Luna Niño, Tom Corringham, Romain Maendly and F. Martin Ralph

Article link: Forthcoming

Climate projections suggest an increasingly variable regional hydroclimate. Overall, precipitation is expected to be less frequent, but extreme precipitation events will be more frequent and more intense. In the warmer future climate, atmospheric rivers are expected to carry more moisture and produce more precipitation. Heavy precipitation will drive disproportionately more intense runoff events in the Delta watershed.