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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 33,
L13801,
doi:10.1029/2006GL026689,
2006
Flooding on California's Russian River: Role of atmospheric rivers
F. Martin Ralph
NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Paul J. Neiman
NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Gary A. Wick
NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Seth I. Gutman
NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Michael D. Dettinger
U.S. Geological Survey, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA
Daniel R. Cayan
U.S. Geological Survey, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA
Allen B. White
Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences/NOAA/ESRL, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Abstract
Experimental observations collected during meteorological field studies conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration near the Russian River of coastal northern California are combined with SSM/I satellite observations offshore
to examine the role of landfalling atmospheric rivers in the creation of flooding. While recent studies have documented the
characteristics and importance of narrow regions of strong meridional water vapor transport over the eastern Pacific Ocean
(recently referred to as atmospheric rivers), this study describes their impact when they strike the U.S. West Coast. A detailed
case study is presented, along with an assessment of all 7 floods on the Russian River since the experimental data were first
available in October 1997. In all 7 floods, atmospheric river conditions were present and caused heavy rainfall through orographic
precipitation. Not only do atmospheric rivers play a crucial role in the global water budget, they can also lead to heavy
coastal rainfall and flooding, and thus represent a key phenomenon linking weather and climate.
Received 24
April
2006;
accepted 23
May
2006;
published 1
July
2006.
Index Terms: 1817 Hydrology: Extreme events; 1821 Hydrology: Floods; 1840 Hydrology: Hydrometeorology; 1854 Hydrology: Precipitation (3354); 3360 Atmospheric Processes: Remote sensing.
Read Full Article (file size: 3201966 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Ralph, F. M., P. J. Neiman, G. A. Wick, S. I. Gutman, M. D. Dettinger, D. R. Cayan, and A. B. White
(2006),
Flooding on California's Russian River: Role of atmospheric rivers,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
33,
L13801,
doi:10.1029/2006GL026689.
Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.
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