Publications

Journal Articles with Atmospheric River Focus

Ault, A., C. Williams, A. White, P. Neiman, J. Creamean, C. Gaston, M. Ralph, and K. Prather, 2011: Detection of Asian Dust in California Orographic Precipitation. J. of Geophys. Res. – Atmos., 116, D16205, doi:10.1029/2010JD015351.

Dettinger, M.D., 2011: Climate change, atmospheric rivers and floods in California—A multimodel analysis of storm frequency and magnitude changes. J. Am. Water Resources Assoc., 47(3), 514-523, doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00546.x.

Dettinger, M.D., Ralph, F.M., Das, T., Neiman, P.J., and Cayan, D., 2011: Atmospheric rivers, floods, and the water resources of California. Water, 3 (Special Issue on Managing Water Resources and Development in a Changing Climate), 455-478, doi:10.3390/w3020445.

Dettinger, M. D., F. M. Ralph, M. Hughes, T. Das, P. Neiman, D. Cox, G. Estes, D. Reynolds, R. Hartman, D. Cayan, L. Jones, 2011: Design and quantification of an extreme winter storm scenario for emergency preparedness and planning exercises in California. Nat. Hazards, doi:10.1007/s11069-011-9894-5.

Dirmeyer, P. A., and J. L. Kinter III, 2010: Floods over the U.S. Midwest: A regional water cycle perspective. J. Hydrometeor., 11, 1172-1181, doi:10.1175/2010JHM1196.1.

Guan, B., N. P. Molotch, D. E. Waliser, E. J. Fetzer, and P. J. Neiman, 2010: Extreme snowfall events linked to atmospheric rivers and surface air temperature via satellite measurements. Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L20401, doi:10.1029/2010GL044696.

Halverson, J. B. and T. D. Rabenhorst, 2010: Mega-snow in the Megalopolis: The Mid-Atlantic's blockbuster winter of 2009–2010. Weatherwise, 63, 16-23, doi:10.1080/00431672.2010.490164.

Jankov, I., J.-W. Bao, P. J. Neiman, P. J. Schultz, Y. Huiling, and A. B. White, 2009. Evaluation and comparison of microphysical algorithms in ARW-WRF model simulations of atmospheric river events affecting the California coast. J. Hydrometeor., 10, 847-870, doi:10.1175/2009JHM1059.1.

Kaplan, M. L., C. S. Adaniya, P. J. Marzette, K. C. King, S. J. Underwood, and J. M. Lewis, 2009. The Role of Upstream Midtropospheric Circulations in the Sierra Nevada Enabling Leeside (Spillover) Precipitation. Part II: A Secondary Atmospheric River Accompanying a Midlevel Jet. J. Hydrometeor., 10, 1327-1354, doi:10.1175/2009JHM1106.1.

Lavers, D. A., R. P. Allan, E. F. Wood, G. Villarini, D. J. Brayshaw, and A. J. Wade, Winter floods in Britain are connected to atmospheric rivers. Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L23803, doi:10.1029/2011GL049783.

Leung L. R, and Y. Qian, 2009. Atmospheric rivers induced heavy precipitation and flooding in the Western U.S. simulated by the WRF regional climate model. Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L03820, doi:10.1029/2008GL036445

Ma, Z., W. Y.-H. Kuo, F. M. Ralph, P. J. Neiman, G. A. Wick, E. Sukovich, and B. Wang, 2011: Assimilation of GPS radio occultation data for an intense atmospheric river with the NCEP Regional GSI system. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 2170 - 2183.

Moore, B. J., P. J. Neiman, F. M. Ralph, and F. E. Barthold, 2011: Physical processes associated with heavy flooding rainfall in Nashville, Tennessee, and Vicinity during 1-2 May 2010: The role of an atmospheric river and mesoscale convective systems. Mon. Wea. Rev., (in press) doi:10.1175/MWR-D-11-00126.1.

Neiman, P. J., F.M. Ralph, G.A. Wick, J. Lundquist, and M.D. Dettinger, 2008a: Meteorological characteristics and overland precipitation impacts of atmospheric rivers affecting the West Coast of North America based on eight years of SSM/I satellite observations. J. Hydrometeor., 9, 22-47, doi:10.1175/2007JHM855.1.

Neiman, P. J., F.M. Ralph, G.A. Wick, Y.-H. Kuo, T.-K. Wee, Z. Ma, G.H. Taylor, and M.D. Dettinger, 2008b: Diagnosis of an intense atmospheric river impacting the Pacific Northwest: Storm summary and offshore vertical structure observed with COSMIC satellite retrievals. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 4398-4420, doi:10.1175/2008MWR2550.1.

Neiman, P. J., L. J. Schick, F. M. Ralph, M. Hughes, and G. A. Wick, 2011: Flooding in western Washington: The connection to atmospheric rivers. J. Hydrometeor., (in press).

Porter, K., Cox, D., Alpers, C., Barnard, P., Carter, J., Dettinger, M., Ferris, J., Morman, S., Perry, S., Plumlee, G., Stock, J., Strong, D., Wein, A., Ralph, F.M., Reynolds, D., Wills, C., Schaefer, K., Olsen, A., Topping, K., Rose, A., Serakos, J., and Eymann, M., Jan 2011: Overview of the ARkStorm scenario, USGS Open File Report, 2010-1312, 72 p.

Ralph, F.M., and M.D. Dettinger, 2011: Storms, Floods and the Science of Atmospheric Rivers. EOS, Transactions, Amer. Geophys. Union., 92, 265-266, doi:10.1029/2011EO320001.

Ralph, F. M., P. J. Neiman, G. N. Kiladis, K. Weickman, and D. W. Reynolds, 2011: A multi-scale observational case study of a Pacific atmospheric river exhibiting tropical-extratropical connections and a mesoscale frontal wave. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 1169-1189, doi:10.1175/2010MWR3596.1.

Ralph, F. M., P. J. Neiman, and R. Rotunno, 2005: Dropsonde Observations in Low-Level Jets Over the Northeastern Pacific Ocean from CALJET-1998 and PACJET-2001: Mean Vertical-Profile and Atmospheric-River Characteristics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 889-910, doi:10.1175/MWR2896.1.

Ralph, F. M., P. J. Neiman, and G.A. Wick, 2004: Satellite and CALJET aircraft observations of atmospheric rivers over the eastern North-Pacific Ocean during the winter of 1997/98. Mon. Wea. Rev., 132, 1721-1745, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(2004)132<1721:SACAOO>2.0.CO;2.

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.

Smith, B.L., S.E. Yuter, P.J. Neiman, and D.E. Kingsmill, 2010: Water vapor fluxes and orographic precipitation over northern California associated with a land-falling atmospheric river. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 74-100, doi:10.1175/2009MWR2939.1.

Stohl, A., C. Forster, and H. Sodemann, 2008: Remote sources of water vapor forming precipitation on the Norwegian west coast at 60° N - a tale of hurricanes and an atmospheric river. J. Geophys. Res., 113, D05102, doi:10.1029/2007JD009006.

Viale, M., and M. N. Nuñez, 2011: Climatology of Winter Orographic Precipitation over the Subtropical Central Andes and Associated Synoptic and Regional Characteristics. J. Hydrometeor, 12, 481-507, doi:10.1175/2010JHM1284.1.

White, A. B., B. Colman, G. M. Carter, F. M. Ralph, R. S. Webb, D. G. Brandon, C. W. King, P. J. Neiman, D. J. Gottas, I. Jankov, K. F. Brill, Y. Zhu, K. Cook, H. E. Buehner, H. Opitz, D. W. Reynolds, L. J. Schick, 2011: NOAA's Rapid Response to the Howard A. Hanson Dam Flood Risk Management Crisis. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., Early Online Release, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00103.1.

Yoshimura, K., Kanamitsu, M., and Dettinger, M., 2010: Regional downscaling for stable water isotopes—A case study of an atmospheric river event. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115(D18114), doi:10.1029/2010JD014032.

Zhu, Y, and R. E. Newell, 1998: A proposed algorithm for moisture fluxes from atmospheric rivers. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 725-735, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1998)126<0725:APAFMF>2.0.CO;2.

Related Journal Articles

Bao, J.-W., S. A. Michelson, P.J. Neiman, F. M. Ralph and J. M. Wilczak, 2006: Interpretation of enhanced integrated water vapor bands associated with extratropical cyclones: Their formation and connection to tropical moisture. Mon. Wea. Rev., 134, 1063-1080, doi:10.1175/MWR3123.1.

Brimelow, J. C., and G. W. Rueter, 2005: Transport of atmospheric moisture during three extreme rainfall events over the Mackenzie river basin. J. Hydrometeor., 6, 423-440, doi:10.1175/JHM430.1.

Boutle, I. A., S. E. Belcher, and R. S. Plant, 2011: Moisture transport in midlatitude cyclones. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 137, 360-373, doi:10.1002/qj.783.

Dettinger, M.D., H. Hidalgo, T. Das, D. Cayan, and N. Knowles, 2009, Projections of potential flood regime changes in California, California Energy Commission Report, CEC-500-2009-050-D, 68 p.

Falvey, M., and R. Garreaud, 2007: Wintertime precipitation episodes in Central Chile: Associated meteorological conditions and orographic influences. J. Hydrometeor., 8, 171-193, doi:10.1175/JHM562.1.

Jankov, I., P. J. Schultz, C. J. Anderson, and S. E. Koch, 2007: The impact of different physical parameterizations and their interactuions on cold-season QPF in the American River basin. J. Hydrometeor., 8, 1141-1151, doi:10.1175/JHM630.1.

Junker, N. W., R. H. Grumm, R. Hart, L. F. Bosart, K. M. Bell, F. J. Pereira, 2008: Use of normalized anomaly fields to anticipate extreme rainfall in the mountains of northern California. Wea. Forecasting, 23, 336-356, doi:10.1175/2007WAF2007013.1.

Knippertz, P., and J. E. Martin, 2007: A Pacific moisture conveyor belt and its relationship to a significant precipitation event in the semiarid Southwestern United States. Wea. Forecasting, 22, 125-144, doi:10.1175/WAF963.1.

Knippertz, P., and H. Wernli, 2010: A Lagrangian climatology of tropical moisture exports to the Northern Hemispheric extratropics. J. Climate, 23, 987-1003, doi:10.1175/2009JCLI3333.1.

Lackmann, G. M., J. R. Gyakum, and R. Benoit, 1998: Moisture transport diagnosis of a wintertime precipitation event in the Mackenzie River basin. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 668-692, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1998)126<0668:MTDOAW>2.0.CO;2.

Morss, R. E., and F. M. Ralph, 2007: Use of information by National Weather Service Forecasters and emergency managers during the CALJET and PACJET-2001. Wea. Forecast., 22, 539-555, doi:10.1175/WAF1001.1.

Neiman, P. J., P.O.G. Persson, F. M. Ralph, D. P. Jorgensen, A. B. White, and D.A. Kingsmill, 2004: Modification of fronts and precipitation by coastal blocking during an intense landfalling winter storm in Southern California: Observations during CALJET. Mon. Wea. Rev., 132, 242 273, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(2004)132<0242:MOFAPB>2.0.CO;2.

Neiman, P. J., F. M. Ralph, A.B. White, D. E. Kingsmill, and P. O. G. Persson, 2002: The statistical relationship between upslope flow and rainfall in California's coastal mountains: Observations during CALJET. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 1468-1492, doi:10.1175/1520-0493(2002)130<1468:TSRBUF>2.0.CO;2.

Neiman, P. J., E. M. Sukovich, F. M. Ralph, and M. Hughes, 2010: A seven-year wind profiler-based climatology of the windward barrier jet along California's northern Sierra Nevada. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 1206-1233, doi:10.1175/2009MWR3170.1.

Neiman, P. J., A. B. White, F. M. Ralph, D. J. Gottas, and S. I. Gutman, 2009: A Water Vapor Flux Tool for Precipitation Forecasting. U.K. Journal of Water Management, 162, 83-94, doi:10.1680/wama.2009.162.2.83.

Persson, P. O. G., P. J. Neiman, B. Walter, J.-W. Bao and F. M. Ralph, 2005: Contributions from California coastal-zone surface fluxes to heavy coastal precipitation: A CALJET case study During the Strong El NiÖo of 1998. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 1175-1198, doi:10.1175/MWR2910.1.

Ralph, F. M., P. J. Neiman, D. E. Kingsmill, P. O. G. Persson, A. B. White, E. T. Strem, E. D. Andrews, and R. C. Antweiler, 2003: The impact of a prominent rain shadow on flooding in California's Santa Cruz mountains: A CALJET case study and sensitivity to the ENSO cycle. J. Hydrometeor., 4, 1243-1264, doi:10.1175/1525-7541(2003)004<1243:TIOAPR>2.0.CO;2.

Ralph, F. M., R. M. Rauber, B. F. Jewett, D. E. Kingsmill, P. Pisano, P. Pugner, R. M. Rassmussen, D. W. Reynolds, T. W. Schlatter, R. E. Stewart and J. S. Waldstreicher, 2005b: Improving short-term (0-48 hour) Cool-season quantitative precipitation forecasting: Recommendations from a USWRP Workshop. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 86, 1619-1632, doi:10.1175/BAMS-86-11-1619.

Ralph, F. M., E. Sukovich, D. Reynolds, M. Dettinger, S. Weagle, W. Clark, and P. J. Neiman, 2010: Assessment of Extreme Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts and Development of Regional Extreme Event Thresholds Using Data from HMT-2006 and COOP Observers. J. Hydrometeor., 11, 1288-1306, doi:10.1175/2010JHM1232.1.

Smirnov, V. V., and G. W. K. Moore, 2001: Short-term and seasonal variability of atmospheric water vapor transport through the Mackenzie River basin. J. Hydrometeor., 2, 441-452, doi:10.1175/1525-7541(2001)002<0441:STASVO>2.0.CO;2.

Smirnov, V. V., and G. W. K. Moore, 1999: Spatial and temporal structure of atmospheric water vapor transport in the Mackenzie River basin. J. Climate, 12, 681-696, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<0681:SATSOA>2.0.CO;2.

Sodemann, H., H. Wernli, and C. Schwierz 2009: Sources of water vapour contributing to the Elbe flood in August 2002-A tagging study in a mesoscale model. Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 135(638), 205-223, doi:10.1002/qj.374/abstract.

Wick, G. A., Y. Kuo, F. M. Ralph, T. Wee, and P. J. Neiman, 2008: Intercomparison of integrated water vapor retrievals from SSM/I and COSMIC, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L21805, doi:10.1029/2008GL035126.

Wratt, D. S., R.N. Ridley, M.R. Sinclair, H. Larsen, S.M. Thompson, R. Henderson, G.L. Austin, S.G. Bradley, A. Auer, A.P. Sturman, I. Owens, B. Fitzharris, B.F. Ryan, and J.-F. Gayet, 1996: The New Zealand Southern Alps Experiment. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 683-692, doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1996)077<0683:TNZSAE>2.0.CO;2.

Yuan, H. J., J. A. McGinley, P. J. Schultz, C. J. Anderson, and C. Lu, 2008: Short-range precipitation forecasts from time-lagged multimodel ensembles during HMT-West 2006 field campaign. J. Hydrometeor., 9, 477-491, doi:10.1175/2008WAF2007053.1.