Earth and Planetary Sciences · Atmospheric Science
A study of California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins found that changing vegetation conditions improved simulations of mountain snow water equivalent, or the amount of water held in snow. Combining those data with finer weather inputs produced the best match to the available snow observations.
A regional climate model projects that Mediterranean cyclones could become about one-third less frequent by the end of the 21st century under RCP8.5. Even so, extreme winds are projected to intensify across the western and eastern Mediterranean, while extreme cyclone-related rainfall increases in the west.
A study finds that extreme, persistent split jet stream patterns are associated with heatwaves occurring at several Northern Hemisphere locations at the same time. The longer the split pattern lasted, the more often these heatwaves occurred together.
A climate-model study suggests that shallow convection and moisture buildup over the northern Indian Ocean contribute to the abrupt onset of the South Asian monsoon. In the simulations, shallow convection about 20 days before onset helped concentrate moist energy near 15°N and supported the circulation linked to monsoon onset.
Future heat extremes across the Middle East are projected to intensify during both daytime and nighttime, with the strongest regional changes generally occurring during the day. The Arabian Peninsula is expected to remain the main hotspot, although some subregions show greater nighttime increases.
Weather forecasts that included wind farms showed strong reductions in wind speed near turbines and statistically significant differences at many sites. The simulated effect on near-surface temperature was small on average but could mean nighttime warming in one model or cooling in another during some periods.
EarthCARE’s radar is providing global measurements of rising air inside tropical clouds, rather than relying only on indirect signs. The strongest updrafts were more common over land, especially during afternoon satellite passes, and were linked to compact cloud systems.
An analysis of 54 climate models found 73 unusually large changes in ocean, sea-ice and atmospheric variables. The events, including winter Arctic sea-ice disappearance and a possible weakening of Atlantic overturning, were projected to occur earlier and at lower global warming than previous reviews assessed.
