Articles | Volume 22, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4155-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4155-2018
Research article
 | 
07 Aug 2018
Research article |  | 07 Aug 2018

Convective suppression before and during the United States Northern Great Plains flash drought of 2017

Tobias Gerken, Gabriel T. Bromley, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Skylar Williams, and Paul C. Stoy

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Cited articles

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Short summary
An unprecedented flash drought took place across parts of the US Northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairie Provinces during the summer of 2017 that in some areas was the worst in recorded history. We show that this drought was preceded by a breakdown of land–atmosphere coupling, reducing the likelihood of convective precipitation. It may be useful to monitor land–atmosphere coupling to track and potentially forecast drought development.
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