Journal article
Changes in the Mechanisms Causing Rapid Drought Cessation in the Southeastern United States
Geophysical research letters, Vol.44(24), pp.12,476-12,483
12/28/2017
Web of Science ID: WOS:000422954700046
Metrics
44 Record Views
Abstract
The synoptic processes that end droughts are poorly understood, yet have significant climatological implications. Here we examined the spatiotemporal patterns of rapid drought cessation (RDC) in the southeastern United States during the1979–2013 warm season (April–November) for three storm types: Frontal, Tropical, and Air mass. We defined RDC as a 1 month shift in soil moisture sufficient to alleviate an existing drought. We found that 73% of all warm‐season droughts were ended by RDC events and the three storm‐type groups ended droughts over similar spatial areas. Frontal storms were the most frequent mechanism for RDC events, yet their occurrences significantly decreased and were negatively related to increases in Northern Hemisphere air temperatures. Projected future warming in the Northern Hemisphere suggests a continued decline in the frequency and relative contribution of Frontal storms as RDC events, potentially influencing the timing and spatial scale of drought cessation in the southeastern U.S.
Key Points
The majority (73%) of droughts in the southeastern United States were ended rapidly over a month period
Storm types had different spatial patterns of rapid drought with closed lows and atmospheric rivers ending drought over the largest areas
The Frontal storm type ended drought rapidly the most frequently but is significantly decreasing in occurrence over the study period
Related links
Details
- Title
- Changes in the Mechanisms Causing Rapid Drought Cessation in the Southeastern United States
- Publication Details
- Geophysical research letters, Vol.44(24), pp.12,476-12,483
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Number of pages
- 8
- Copyright
- ©2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
- Identifiers
- WOS:000422954700046; 99380504161106600
- Academic Unit
- Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering ; Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English