Journal article
Extreme Convective Rainfall and Flooding from Winter Season Extratropical Cyclones in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the US
Journal of hydrometeorology, Vol.24(3), pp.497-520
03/2023
DOI: 10.1175/JHM-D-22-0069.1
Abstract
Abstract Extreme rainfall from extratropical cyclones and the distinctive hydrology of the winter season both contribute to flood extremes in the Mid-Atlantic region. In this study, we examine extreme rainfall and flooding from a winter season extratropical cyclone that passed through the eastern U.S. on 24-25 February 2016. Extreme rainfall rates during the 24-25 February 2016 time period were produced by supercell thunderstorms; we identify supercells through local maxima in azimuthal shear fields computed from Doppler velocity measurements from WSR-88D radars. Rainfall rates approaching 250 mm h −1 from a long-lived supercell in New Jersey were measured by a Parsivel disdrometer. A distinctive element of the storm environment for the 24-25 February 2016 storm was elevated values of Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE). We also examine the climatology of atmospheric rivers (ARs) - like the February 2016 storm - based on an identification and tracking algorithm that uses 20 th Century Reanalysis fields for the 66 year period from 1950 - 2015. Climatological analyses suggest that AR frequency is increasing over the Mid-Atlantic region. An increase in AR frequency, combined with increasing frequency of elevated CAPE during the winter season over the Mid-Atlantic region could result in striking changes to the climatology of extreme floods.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Extreme Convective Rainfall and Flooding from Winter Season Extratropical Cyclones in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the US
- Creators
- Yibing Su - Princeton UniversityJames A Smith - Princeton UniversityGabriele Villarini - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of hydrometeorology, Vol.24(3), pp.497-520
- DOI
- 10.1175/JHM-D-22-0069.1
- ISSN
- 1525-755X
- eISSN
- 1525-7541
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000001, name: National Science Foundation, award: EAR-1632048; DOI: 10.13039/100000001, name: National Science Foundation, award: CBET-1444758; name: NOAA Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 12/23/2022
- Date published
- 03/2023
- Academic Unit
- IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984353996202771
Metrics
2 Record Views