Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-897-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-897-2017
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
14 Feb 2017
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 14 Feb 2017

Rapid attribution of the August 2016 flood-inducing extreme precipitation in south Louisiana to climate change

Karin van der Wiel, Sarah B. Kapnick, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, Kirien Whan, Sjoukje Philip, Gabriel A. Vecchi, Roop K. Singh, Julie Arrighi, and Heidi Cullen

Related authors

Changing European Hydroclimate under a Collapsed AMOC in the Community Earth System Model
René M. van Westen, Karin van der Wiel, Swinda K. J. Falkena, and Frank Selten
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1440,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1440, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
Short summary
Compound flood impacts from Hurricane Sandy on New York City in climate-driven storylines
Henrique M. D. Goulart, Irene Benito Lazaro, Linda van Garderen, Karin van der Wiel, Dewi Le Bars, Elco Koks, and Bart van den Hurk
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 29–45, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-29-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-29-2024, 2024
Short summary
The KNMI Large Ensemble Time Slice (KNMI–LENTIS)
Laura Muntjewerf, Richard Bintanja, Thomas Reerink, and Karin van der Wiel
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4581–4597, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4581-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4581-2023, 2023
Short summary
A data-driven model for Fennoscandian wildfire danger
Sigrid Jørgensen Bakke, Niko Wanders, Karin van der Wiel, and Lena Merete Tallaksen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 65–89, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-65-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-65-2023, 2023
Short summary
The effects of varying drought-heat signatures on terrestrial carbon dynamics and vegetation composition
Elisabeth Tschumi, Sebastian Lienert, Karin van der Wiel, Fortunat Joos, and Jakob Zscheischler
Biogeosciences, 19, 1979–1993, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1979-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1979-2022, 2022
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Hydrometeorology | Techniques and Approaches: Modelling approaches
High-resolution land surface modelling over Africa: the role of uncertain soil properties in combination with forcing temporal resolution
Bamidele Oloruntoba, Stefan Kollet, Carsten Montzka, Harry Vereecken, and Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1659–1683, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1659-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1659-2025, 2025
Short summary
Investigating the global and regional response of drought to idealized deforestation using multiple global climate models
Yan Li, Bo Huang, Chunping Tan, Xia Zhang, Francesco Cherubini, and Henning W. Rust
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1637–1658, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1637-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1637-2025, 2025
Short summary
Distribution, trends, and drivers of flash droughts in the United Kingdom
Iván Noguera, Jamie Hannaford, and Maliko Tanguy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1295–1317, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1295-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1295-2025, 2025
Short summary
Are dependencies of extreme rainfall on humidity more reliable in convection-permitting climate models?
Geert Lenderink, Nikolina Ban, Erwan Brisson, Ségolène Berthou, Virginia Edith Cortés-Hernández, Elizabeth Kendon, Hayley J. Fowler, and Hylke de Vries
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1201–1220, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1201-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1201-2025, 2025
Short summary
Leveraging a radar-based disdrometer network to develop a probabilistic precipitation phase model in eastern Canada
Alexis Bédard-Therrien, François Anctil, Julie M. Thériault, Olivier Chalifour, Fanny Payette, Alexandre Vidal, and Daniel F. Nadeau
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1135–1158, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1135-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1135-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Allen, R. and Burgess, R.: LSU AgCenter predicts floods cost state at least $110 million in crop loss, The Advocate, http://www.theadvocate.com/louisiana_flood_2016/article_a7689806-6946-11e6-a681-ab59c458f55c.html?sr_source=lift_amplify, last access: 26 August 2016.
American Red Cross: Louisiana Flooding: Red Cross Shelters 10,000+ After Worst Disaster Since Superstorm Sandy, American Red Cross, http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Louisiana-Flooding-Red-Cross, last access: 23 August 2016a.
American Red Cross: Needs of People in Louisiana Remain Great; Red Cross Still Sheltering 7,000+, Serving Thousands of Meals, American Red Cross, http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Needs-of-People-in-Louisiana, last access: 23 August 2016b.
Broach, D.: How many houses, people flooded in Louisiana?, NOLA, http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2016/08/how_many_people_houses_were_fl.html, last access: 24 August 2016.
Bromwich, J. E.: Flooding in the South Looks a Lot Like Climate Change, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/climate-change-louisiana.html, last access: 24 August 2016.
Download
Short summary
During August 2016, heavy precipitation led to devastating floods in south Louisiana, USA. Here, we analyze the climatological statistics of the precipitation event, as defined by its 3-day total over 12–14 August. Using observational data and high-resolution global coupled model experiments, we find for a comparable event on the central US Gulf Coast an average return period of about 30 years and the odds being increased by at least 1.4 since 1900 due to anthropogenic climate change.
Share