Articles | Volume 24, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1741-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1741-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Apr 2020
Research article |
| 09 Apr 2020
| 09 Apr 2020
Near-0 °C surface temperature and precipitation type patterns across Canada
Meteorological Research Division, Environment and Climate Change
Canada, Toronto, M3H 5T4, Canada
Ronald E. Stewart
Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada
Julie M. Theriault
Centre ESCER, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences,
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, H2X 3Y7, Canada
Bohdan Kochtubajda
Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change
Canada, Edmonton, T6B 1K5, Canada
Barrie R. Bonsal
Watershed Hydrology and Ecology Research Division, Environment and
Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, S7N 3H5, Canada
Zhuo Liu
Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, R3T 2N2, Canada
Related authors
Craig D. Smith, Eva Mekis, Megan Hartwell, and Amber Ross
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5253–5265, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
It is well understood that precipitation gauges underestimate the measurement of solid precipitation (snow) as a result of systematic bias caused by wind. Relationships between the wind speed and gauge catch efficiency of solid precipitation have been previously established and are applied to the hourly precipitation measurements made between 2001 and 2019 in the automated Environment and Climate Change Canada observation network. The adjusted data are available for download and use.
Zen Mariani, Laura Huang, Robert Crawford, Jean-Pierre Blanchet, Shannon Hicks-Jalali, Eva Mekis, Ludovick Pelletier, Peter Rodriguez, and Kevin Strawbridge
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4995–5017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4995-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4995-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) commissioned two supersites in Iqaluit (64°N, 69°W) and Whitehorse (61°N, 135°W) to provide new and enhanced automated and continuous altitude-resolved meteorological observations as part of the Canadian Arctic Weather Science (CAWS) project. These observations are being used to test new technologies, provide recommendations to the optimal Arctic observing system, and evaluate and improve the performance of numerical weather forecast systems.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Tilden Meyers, Samuel Buisan, Ketil Isaksen, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, and Al Jachcik
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1437–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Due to the effects of wind, precipitation gauges typically underestimate the amount of precipitation that occurs as snow. Measurements recorded during a World Meteorological Organization intercomparison of precipitation gauges were used to evaluate and improve the adjustments that are available to address this issue. Adjustments for specific types of precipitation gauges and wind shields were tested and recommended.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Samuel Buisan, Timo Laine, Gyuwon Lee, Jose Luis C. Aceituno, Javier Alastrué, Ketil Isaksen, Tilden Meyers, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, Al Jachcik, and Antti Poikonen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3525–3542, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation measurements were combined from eight separate precipitation testbeds to create multi-site transfer functions for the correction of unshielded and single-Alter-shielded precipitation gauge measurements. Site-specific errors and more universally applicable corrections were created from these WMO-SPICE measurements. The importance and magnitude of such wind speed corrections were demonstrated.
L. Scaff, D. Yang, Y. Li, and E. Mekis
The Cryosphere, 9, 2417–2428, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2417-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2417-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The bias corrections show significant errors in the gauge precipitation measurements over the northern regions. Monthly precipitation is closely correlated between the stations across the Alaska--Yukon border, particularly for the warm months. Double mass curves indicate changes in the cumulative precipitation due to bias corrections over the study period. Overall the bias corrections lead to a smaller and inverted precipitation gradient across the border, especially for snowfall.
Mathieu Lachapelle, Mélissa Cholette, and Julie M. Thériault
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11285–11304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11285-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11285-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Hazardous precipitation types such as ice pellets and freezing rain are difficult to predict because they are associated with complex microphysical processes. Using Predicted Particle Properties (P3), this work shows that secondary ice production processes increase the amount of ice pellets simulated while decreasing the amount of freezing rain. Moreover, the properties of the simulated precipitation compare well with those that were measured.
Alexis Bédard-Therrien, François Anctil, Julie M. Thériault, Olivier Chalifour, Fanny Payette, Alexandre Vidal, and Daniel F. Nadeau
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-78, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-78, 2024
Preprint under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
Observations from a study site network in eastern Canada showed a temperature interval the overlapping probabilities for rain, snow or a mix of both. Models using random forest algorithms were developed to classify the precipitation phase using meteorological data to evaluate operational applications. They showed significantly improved phase classification compared to benchmarks, but misclassification led to costlier errors. However, accurate prediction of mixed phase remains a challenge.
François Roberge, Alejandro Di Luca, René Laprise, Philippe Lucas-Picher, and Julie Thériault
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 1497–1510, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1497-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-1497-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our study addresses a challenge in dynamical downscaling using regional climate models, focusing on the lack of small-scale features near the boundaries. We introduce a method to identify this “spatial spin-up” in precipitation simulations. Results show spin-up distances up to 300 km, varying by season and driving variable. Double nesting with comprehensive variables (e.g. microphysical variables) offers advantages. Findings will help optimize simulations for better climate projections.
Hadleigh D. Thompson, Julie M. Thériault, Stephen J. Déry, Ronald E. Stewart, Dominique Boisvert, Lisa Rickard, Nicolas R. Leroux, Matteo Colli, and Vincent Vionnet
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5785–5806, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5785-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5785-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Saint John River experiment on Cold Season Storms was conducted in northwest New Brunswick, Canada, to investigate the types of precipitation that can lead to ice jams and flooding along the river. We deployed meteorological instruments, took precipitation measurements and photographs of snowflakes, and launched weather balloons. These data will help us to better understand the atmospheric conditions that can affect local communities and townships downstream during the spring melt season.
Craig D. Smith, Eva Mekis, Megan Hartwell, and Amber Ross
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5253–5265, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
It is well understood that precipitation gauges underestimate the measurement of solid precipitation (snow) as a result of systematic bias caused by wind. Relationships between the wind speed and gauge catch efficiency of solid precipitation have been previously established and are applied to the hourly precipitation measurements made between 2001 and 2019 in the automated Environment and Climate Change Canada observation network. The adjusted data are available for download and use.
Zen Mariani, Laura Huang, Robert Crawford, Jean-Pierre Blanchet, Shannon Hicks-Jalali, Eva Mekis, Ludovick Pelletier, Peter Rodriguez, and Kevin Strawbridge
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4995–5017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4995-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4995-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) commissioned two supersites in Iqaluit (64°N, 69°W) and Whitehorse (61°N, 135°W) to provide new and enhanced automated and continuous altitude-resolved meteorological observations as part of the Canadian Arctic Weather Science (CAWS) project. These observations are being used to test new technologies, provide recommendations to the optimal Arctic observing system, and evaluate and improve the performance of numerical weather forecast systems.
Chris M. DeBeer, Howard S. Wheater, John W. Pomeroy, Alan G. Barr, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Jill F. Johnstone, Merritt R. Turetsky, Ronald E. Stewart, Masaki Hayashi, Garth van der Kamp, Shawn Marshall, Elizabeth Campbell, Philip Marsh, Sean K. Carey, William L. Quinton, Yanping Li, Saman Razavi, Aaron Berg, Jeffrey J. McDonnell, Christopher Spence, Warren D. Helgason, Andrew M. Ireson, T. Andrew Black, Mohamed Elshamy, Fuad Yassin, Bruce Davison, Allan Howard, Julie M. Thériault, Kevin Shook, Michael N. Demuth, and Alain Pietroniro
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1849–1882, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1849-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1849-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This article examines future changes in land cover and hydrological cycling across the interior of western Canada under climate conditions projected for the 21st century. Key insights into the mechanisms and interactions of Earth system and hydrological process responses are presented, and this understanding is used together with model application to provide a synthesis of future change. This has allowed more scientifically informed projections than have hitherto been available.
Julie M. Thériault, Stephen J. Déry, John W. Pomeroy, Hilary M. Smith, Juris Almonte, André Bertoncini, Robert W. Crawford, Aurélie Desroches-Lapointe, Mathieu Lachapelle, Zen Mariani, Selina Mitchell, Jeremy E. Morris, Charlie Hébert-Pinard, Peter Rodriguez, and Hadleigh D. Thompson
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1233–1249, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1233-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1233-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This article discusses the data that were collected during the Storms and Precipitation Across the continental Divide (SPADE) field campaign in spring 2019 in the Canadian Rockies, along the Alberta and British Columbia border. Various instruments were installed at five field sites to gather information about atmospheric conditions focussing on precipitation. Details about the field sites, the instrumentation used, the variables collected, and the collection methods and intervals are presented.
Laurent de Rham, Yonas Dibike, Spyros Beltaos, Daniel Peters, Barrie Bonsal, and Terry Prowse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1835–1860, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1835-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1835-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the Canadian River Ice Database. Water level recordings at a network of 196 National Hydrometric Program gauging sites over the period 1894–2015 were reviewed. This database, of nearly 73 000 recorded variables and over 460 000 data entries, includes the timing and magnitude of fall freeze-up, midwinter break-up, winter minimum, ice thickness, spring break-up and maximum open-water levels. These data cover the range of river types and climate regions for Canada.
Émilie Poirier, Julie M. Thériault, and Maud Leriche
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4097–4111, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4097-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4097-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The impact of phase changes aloft on the precipitation distribution in the Kananaskis Valley, Alberta, was studied. The model reproduces well the atmospheric conditions and precipitation pattern. In this region, sublimation has a greater impact on the evolution of the precipitation than melting. The trajectories of hydrometeors explain the precipitation distribution in the valley, which can impact snowpacks. The amount of snow at the surface also depends on the strength of the downslope flow.
Juris D. Almonte and Ronald E. Stewart
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3665–3682, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3665-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3665-2019, 2019
Ronald E. Stewart, Kit K. Szeto, Barrie R. Bonsal, John M. Hanesiak, Bohdan Kochtubajda, Yanping Li, Julie M. Thériault, Chris M. DeBeer, Benita Y. Tam, Zhenhua Li, Zhuo Liu, Jennifer A. Bruneau, Patrick Duplessis, Sébastien Marinier, and Dominic Matte
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3437–3455, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3437-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3437-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This article examines future atmospheric-related phenomena across the interior of western Canada associated with a
business-as-usualclimate scenario. Changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation and extent of warming vary with season, and these generally lead to increases, especially after mid-century, in factors associated with winter snowstorms, freezing rain, drought, forest fires, as well as atmospheric forcing of spring floods, although not necessarily summer convection.
Matteo Colli, Mattia Stagnaro, Luca Lanza, Roy Rasmussen, and Julie M. Thériault
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2018-447, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2018-447, 2018
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
Our results provide geoscience scientists, meteorological and hydrological services with an improved method to correct the snow measurements from its main source of uncertainty (the wind-induced undercatch of snow particles). The correction builds upon existing approaches developed during the WMO SPICE program and proposes the use of the snowfall intensity variable. The analysis takes advantage of both field datasets provided by SPICE and results of computational fluid-dynamics simulations.
Zhenhua Li, Yanping Li, Barrie Bonsal, Alan H. Manson, and Lucia Scaff
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5057–5067, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5057-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5057-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The research started by investigating the 2015 growing season drought over the Canadian Prairies and evolved into investigating the connection between growing season rain deficit in the Prairies and MJO (20–90 days tropical oscillation in convective storms). With warm central Pacific sea surface temperature, strong MJOs in the western Pacific cause Rossby wave trains that propagate downstream and favour upper-level ridges and rain deficits over the Canadian Prairies during the growing season.
Julie M. Thériault, Ida Hung, Paul Vaquer, Ronald E. Stewart, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4491–4512, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4491-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4491-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation events associated with rain and snow on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, Canada, are a critical aspect of the regional water cycle. The goal is to characterize the precipitation and weather conditions in the Kananaskis Valley, Alberta, during a field experiment. Mainly dense solid precipitation reached the surface and occurred during downslope and upslope conditions. The precipitation phase has critical implications on the severity of flooding events in the area.
Zilefac Elvis Asong, Howard Simon Wheater, Barrie Bonsal, Saman Razavi, and Sopan Kurkute
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3105–3124, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3105-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3105-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Canada is very susceptible to recurrent droughts, which have damaging impacts on regional water resources and agriculture. However, nationwide drought assessments are currently lacking and impacted by limited ground-based observations. We delineate two major drought regions (Prairies and northern central) over Canada and link drought characteristics to external factors of climate variability. This study helps to determine when the drought events occur, their duration, and how often they occur.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Tilden Meyers, Samuel Buisan, Ketil Isaksen, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, and Al Jachcik
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1437–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Due to the effects of wind, precipitation gauges typically underestimate the amount of precipitation that occurs as snow. Measurements recorded during a World Meteorological Organization intercomparison of precipitation gauges were used to evaluate and improve the adjustments that are available to address this issue. Adjustments for specific types of precipitation gauges and wind shields were tested and recommended.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Samuel Buisan, Timo Laine, Gyuwon Lee, Jose Luis C. Aceituno, Javier Alastrué, Ketil Isaksen, Tilden Meyers, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, Al Jachcik, and Antti Poikonen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3525–3542, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation measurements were combined from eight separate precipitation testbeds to create multi-site transfer functions for the correction of unshielded and single-Alter-shielded precipitation gauge measurements. Site-specific errors and more universally applicable corrections were created from these WMO-SPICE measurements. The importance and magnitude of such wind speed corrections were demonstrated.
Jefferson S. Wong, Saman Razavi, Barrie R. Bonsal, Howard S. Wheater, and Zilefac E. Asong
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2163–2185, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2163-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2163-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study was conducted to quantify the spatial and temporal variability of the errors associated with various gridded precipitation products in Canada. Overall, WFDEI [GPCC] and CaPA performed best with respect to different performance measures, followed by ANUSPLIN and WEDEI [CRU]. Princeton and NARR demonstrated the lowest quality. Comparing the climate model-simulated products, PCIC ensembles generally performed better than NA-CORDEX ensembles in terms of reliability in four seasons.
L. Scaff, D. Yang, Y. Li, and E. Mekis
The Cryosphere, 9, 2417–2428, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2417-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-2417-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
The bias corrections show significant errors in the gauge precipitation measurements over the northern regions. Monthly precipitation is closely correlated between the stations across the Alaska--Yukon border, particularly for the warm months. Double mass curves indicate changes in the cumulative precipitation due to bias corrections over the study period. Overall the bias corrections lead to a smaller and inverted precipitation gradient across the border, especially for snowfall.
Related subject area
Subject: Hydrometeorology | Techniques and Approaches: Mathematical applications
Estimating global precipitation fields by interpolating rain gauge observations using the local ensemble transform Kalman filter and reanalysis precipitation
Theoretical Annual Exceedances from Moving Average Drought Indices
Using statistical models to depict the response of multi-timescale drought to forest cover change across climate zones
Past, present and future rainfall erosivity in central Europe based on convection-permitting climate simulations
The most extreme rainfall erosivity event ever recorded in China up to 2022: the 7.20 storm in Henan Province
The role of atmospheric rivers in the distribution of heavy precipitation events over North America
Study on a mother wavelet optimization framework based on change-point detection of hydrological time series
Projected changes in droughts and extreme droughts in Great Britain strongly influenced by the choice of drought index
Atmospheric water transport connectivity within and between ocean basins and land
Technical Note: Space–time statistical quality control of extreme precipitation observations
The relative importance of antecedent soil moisture and precipitation in flood generation in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin
Rainfall pattern analysis in 24 East Asian megacities using a complex network
Comparison between canonical vine copulas and a meta-Gaussian model for forecasting agricultural drought over China
Analysis of flash droughts in China using machine learning
Performance-based comparison of regionalization methods to improve the at-site estimates of daily precipitation
The use of personal weather station observations to improve precipitation estimation and interpolation
The 2018 northern European hydrological drought and its drivers in a historical perspective
Assimilating shallow soil moisture observations into land models with a water budget constraint
Emerging climate signals in the Lena River catchment: a non-parametric statistical approach
A universal multifractal approach to assessment of spatiotemporal extreme precipitation over the Loess Plateau of China
Significant spatial patterns from the GCM seasonal forecasts of global precipitation
Bayesian performance evaluation of evapotranspiration models based on eddy covariance systems in an arid region
Technical note: An improved Grassberger–Procaccia algorithm for analysis of climate system complexity
The influence of long-term changes in canopy structure on rainfall interception loss: a case study in Speulderbos, the Netherlands
Geostatistical assessment of warm-season precipitation observations in Korea based on the composite precipitation and satellite water vapor data
Investigating water budget dynamics in 18 river basins across the Tibetan Plateau through multiple datasets
Does the GPM mission improve the systematic error component in satellite rainfall estimates over TRMM? An evaluation at a pan-India scale
Assessment of an ensemble seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australia
Technical note: Combining quantile forecasts and predictive distributions of streamflows
Scaled distribution mapping: a bias correction method that preserves raw climate model projected changes
Temporal and spatial changes of rainfall and streamflow in the Upper Tekezē–Atbara river basin, Ethiopia
Seasonal streamflow forecasting by conditioning climatology with precipitation indices
Bias correcting precipitation forecasts to improve the skill of seasonal streamflow forecasts
Flood triggering in Switzerland: the role of daily to monthly preceding precipitation
Comparing bias correction methods in downscaling meteorological variables for a hydrologic impact study in an arid area in China
Explaining and forecasting interannual variability in the flow of the Nile River
Drought severity–duration–frequency curves: a foundation for risk assessment and planning tool for ecosystem establishment in post-mining landscapes
Characterising the space–time structure of rainfall in the Sahel with a view to estimating IDAF curves
Spatial analysis of precipitation in a high-mountain region: exploring methods with multi-scale topographic predictors and circulation types
Variability of extreme precipitation over Europe and its relationships with teleconnection patterns
Drought evolution characteristics and precipitation intensity changes during alternating dry–wet changes in the Huang–Huai–Hai River basin
Structural break or long memory: an empirical survey on daily rainfall data sets across Malaysia
Calibration of aerodynamic roughness over the Tibetan Plateau with Ensemble Kalman Filter analysed heat flux
Technical Note: Downscaling RCM precipitation to the station scale using statistical transformations – a comparison of methods
Spectral representation of the annual cycle in the climate change signal
Simultaneous estimation of land surface scheme states and parameters using the ensemble Kalman filter: identical twin experiments
Downscaling of surface moisture flux and precipitation in the Ebro Valley (Spain) using analogues and analogues followed by random forests and multiple linear regression
Geostatistical radar-raingauge combination with nonparametric correlograms: methodological considerations and application in Switzerland
El Niño-Southern Oscillation and water resources in the headwaters region of the Yellow River: links and potential for forecasting
A summer climate regime over Europe modulated by the North Atlantic Oscillation
Yuka Muto and Shunji Kotsuki
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5401–5417, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5401-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
It is crucial to improve global precipitation estimates to understand water-related disasters and water resources. This study proposes a new methodology to interpolate global precipitation fields from ground rain gauge observations using ensemble data assimilation and the precipitation of a numerical weather prediction model. Our estimates agree better with independent rain gauge observations than existing precipitation estimates, especially in mountainous or rain-gauge-sparse regions.
James Howard Stagge, Kyungmin Sung, Irenee Munyejuru, and Md Atif Ibne Haidar
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1430, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1430, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and related drought indices are used globally to measure drought severity. The index uses a predictable structure, which we leverage to determine the theoretical likelihood of a year with an extreme worse than a given threshold. We show these likelihoods differ by the length (number of months) and resolution (daily vs monthly) of the index. This is important for drought managers when setting decision thresholds or when communicating risk to the public.
Yan Li, Bo Huang, and Henning W. Rust
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 321–339, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-321-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-321-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The inconsistent changes in temperature and precipitation induced by forest cover change are very likely to affect drought condition. We use a set of statistical models to explore the relationship between forest cover change and drought change in different timescales and climate zones. We find that the influence of forest cover on droughts varies under different precipitation and temperature quantiles. Forest cover also could modulate the impacts of precipitation and temperature on drought.
Magdalena Uber, Michael Haller, Christoph Brendel, Gudrun Hillebrand, and Thomas Hoffmann
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 87–102, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-87-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-87-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We calculated past, present and future rainfall erosivity in central Europe from high-resolution precipitation data (3 km and 1 h) generated by the COSMO-CLM convection-permitting climate model. Future rainfall erosivity can be up to 84 % higher than it was in the past. Such increases are much higher than estimated previously from regional climate model output. Convection-permitting simulations have an enormous and, to date, unexploited potential for the calculation of future rainfall erosivity.
Yuanyuan Xiao, Shuiqing Yin, Bofu Yu, Conghui Fan, Wenting Wang, and Yun Xie
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4563–4577, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4563-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4563-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
An exceptionally heavy rainfall event occurred on 20 July 2021 in central China (the 7.20 storm). The storm presents a rare opportunity to examine the extreme rainfall erosivity. The storm, with an average recurrence interval of at least 10 000 years, was the largest in terms of its rainfall erosivity on record over the past 70 years in China. The study suggests that extreme erosive events can occur anywhere in eastern China and are not necessarily concentrated in low latitudes.
Sara M. Vallejo-Bernal, Frederik Wolf, Niklas Boers, Dominik Traxl, Norbert Marwan, and Jürgen Kurths
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2645–2660, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2645-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2645-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Employing event synchronization and complex networks analysis, we reveal a cascade of heavy rainfall events, related to intense atmospheric rivers (ARs): heavy precipitation events (HPEs) in western North America (NA) that occur in the aftermath of land-falling ARs are synchronized with HPEs in central and eastern Canada with a delay of up to 12 d. Understanding the effects of ARs in the rainfall over NA will lead to better anticipating the evolution of the climate dynamics in the region.
Jiqing Li, Jing Huang, Lei Zheng, and Wei Zheng
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2325–2339, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2325-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Under the joint action of climate–human activities the use of runoff data whose mathematical properties have changed has become the key to watershed management. To determine whether the data have been changed, the number and the location of changes, we proposed a change-point detection framework. The problem of determining the parameters of wavelet transform has been solved by comparing the accuracy of identifying change points. This study helps traditional models adapt to environmental changes.
Nele Reyniers, Timothy J. Osborn, Nans Addor, and Geoff Darch
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1151–1171, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1151-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In an analysis of future drought projections for Great Britain based on the Standardised Precipitation Index and the Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, we show that the choice of drought indicator has a decisive influence on the resulting projected changes in drought characteristics, although both result in increased drying. This highlights the need to understand the interplay between increasing atmospheric evaporative demand and drought impacts under a changing climate.
Dipanjan Dey, Aitor Aldama Campino, and Kristofer Döös
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 481–493, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-481-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-481-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
One of the most striking and robust features of climate change is the acceleration of the atmospheric water cycle branch. Earlier studies were able to provide a quantification of the global atmospheric water cycle, but they missed addressing the atmospheric water transport connectivity within and between ocean basins and land. These shortcomings were overcome in the present study and presented a complete synthesised and quantitative view of the atmospheric water cycle.
Abbas El Hachem, Jochen Seidel, Florian Imbery, Thomas Junghänel, and András Bárdossy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 6137–6146, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6137-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-6137-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Through this work, a methodology to identify outliers in intense precipitation data was presented. The results show the presence of several suspicious observations that strongly differ from their surroundings. Many identified outliers did not have unusually high values but disagreed with their neighboring values at the corresponding time steps. Weather radar and discharge data were used to distinguish between single events and false observations.
Qihua Ran, Jin Wang, Xiuxiu Chen, Lin Liu, Jiyu Li, and Sheng Ye
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4919–4931, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4919-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4919-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study aims to further evaluate the relative importance of antecedent soil moisture and rainfall on flood generation and the controlling factors. The relative importance of antecedent soil moisture and daily rainfall present a significant correlation with drainage area; the larger the watershed, and the more essential the antecedent soil saturation rate is in flood generation, the less important daily rainfall will be.
Kyunghun Kim, Jaewon Jung, Hung Soo Kim, Masahiko Haraguchi, and Soojun Kim
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4823–4836, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4823-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4823-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study applied a new methodology (complex network), instead of using classic methods, to establish the relationships between rainfall events in large East Asian cities. The relationships show that western China and Southeast Asia have a lot of influence on each other. Moreover, it is confirmed that the relationships arise from the effect of the East Asian monsoon. In future, complex network may be able to be applied to analyze the concurrent relationships between extreme rainfall events.
Haijiang Wu, Xiaoling Su, Vijay P. Singh, Te Zhang, Jixia Qi, and Shengzhi Huang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3847–3861, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3847-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3847-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Agricultural drought forecasting lies at the core of overall drought risk management and is critical for food security and drought early warning. Using three-dimensional scenarios, we attempted to compare the agricultural drought forecast performance of a canonical vine copula (3C-vine) model and meta-Gaussian (MG) model over China. The findings show that the 3C-vine model exhibits more skill than the MG model when using 1– to 3-month lead times for forecasting agricultural drought.
Linqi Zhang, Yi Liu, Liliang Ren, Adriaan J. Teuling, Ye Zhu, Linyong Wei, Linyan Zhang, Shanhu Jiang, Xiaoli Yang, Xiuqin Fang, and Hang Yin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3241–3261, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3241-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3241-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, three machine learning methods displayed a good detection capacity of flash droughts. The RF model was recommended to estimate the depletion rate of soil moisture and simulate flash drought by considering the multiple meteorological variable anomalies in the adjacent time to drought onset. The anomalies of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration exhibited a stronger synergistic but asymmetrical effect on flash droughts compared to slowly developing droughts.
Abubakar Haruna, Juliette Blanchet, and Anne-Catherine Favre
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2797–2811, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2797-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2797-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Reliable prediction of floods depends on the quality of the input data such as precipitation. However, estimation of precipitation from the local measurements is known to be difficult, especially for extremes. Regionalization improves the estimates by increasing the quantity of data available for estimation. Here, we compare three regionalization methods based on their robustness and reliability. We apply the comparison to a dense network of daily stations within and outside Switzerland.
András Bárdossy, Jochen Seidel, and Abbas El Hachem
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 583–601, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-583-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-583-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, the applicability of data from private weather stations (PWS) for precipitation interpolation was investigated. Due to unknown errors and biases in these observations, a two-step filter was developed that uses indicator correlations and event-based spatial precipitation patterns. The procedure was tested and cross validated for the state of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). The biggest improvement is achieved for the shortest time aggregations.
Sigrid J. Bakke, Monica Ionita, and Lena M. Tallaksen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5621–5653, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5621-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5621-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an in-depth analysis of the 2018 northern European drought. Large parts of the region experienced 60-year record-breaking temperatures, linked to high-pressure systems and warm surrounding seas. Meteorological drought developed from May and, depending on local conditions, led to extreme low flows and groundwater drought in the following months. The 2018 event was unique in that it affected most of Fennoscandia as compared to previous droughts.
Bo Dan, Xiaogu Zheng, Guocan Wu, and Tao Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5187–5201, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5187-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5187-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Data assimilation is a procedure to generate an optimal combination of the state variable in geoscience, based on the model outputs and observations. The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) scheme is a widely used assimilation method in soil moisture estimation. This study proposed several modifications of EnKF for improving this assimilation. The study shows that the quality of the assimilation result is improved, while the degree of water budget imbalance is reduced.
Eric Pohl, Christophe Grenier, Mathieu Vrac, and Masa Kageyama
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2817–2839, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2817-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2817-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Existing approaches to quantify the emergence of climate change require several user choices that make these approaches less objective. We present an approach that uses a minimum number of choices and showcase its application in the extremely sensitive, permafrost-dominated region of eastern Siberia. Designed as a Python toolbox, it allows for incorporating climate model, reanalysis, and in situ data to make use of numerous existing data sources and reduce uncertainties in obtained estimates.
Jianjun Zhang, Guangyao Gao, Bojie Fu, Cong Wang, Hoshin V. Gupta, Xiaoping Zhang, and Rui Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 809–826, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-809-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-809-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We proposed an approach that integrates universal multifractals and a segmentation algorithm to precisely identify extreme precipitation (EP) and assess spatiotemporal EP variation over the Loess Plateau, using daily data. Our results explain how EP contributes to the widely distributed severe natural hazards. These findings are of great significance for ecological management in the Loess Plateau. Our approach is also helpful for spatiotemporal EP assessment at the regional scale.
Tongtiegang Zhao, Wei Zhang, Yongyong Zhang, Zhiyong Liu, and Xiaohong Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1-2020, 2020
Guoxiao Wei, Xiaoying Zhang, Ming Ye, Ning Yue, and Fei Kan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2877–2895, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2877-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2877-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Accurately evaluating evapotranspiration (ET) is a critical challenge in improving hydrological process modeling. Here we evaluated four ET models (PM, SW, PT–FC, and AA) under the Bayesian framework. Our results reveal that the SW model has the best performance. This is in part because the SW model captures the main physical mechanism in ET; the other part is that the key parameters, such as the extinction factor, could be well constrained with observation data.
Chongli Di, Tiejun Wang, Xiaohua Yang, and Siliang Li
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5069–5079, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5069-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5069-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The original Grassberger–Procaccia algorithm for complex analysis was modified by incorporating the normal-based K-means clustering technique and the RANSAC algorithm. The calculation accuracy of the proposed method was shown to outperform traditional algorithms. The proposed algorithm was used to diagnose climate system complexity in the Hai He basin. The spatial patterns of the complexity of precipitation and air temperature reflected the influence of the dominant climate system.
César Cisneros Vaca, Christiaan van der Tol, and Chandra Prasad Ghimire
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3701–3719, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3701-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3701-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The influence of long-term changes in canopy structure on rainfall interception loss was studied in a 55-year old forest. Interception loss was similar at the same site (38 %), when the forest was 29 years old. In the past, the forest was denser and had a higher storage capacity, but the evaporation rates were lower. We emphasize the importance of quantifying downward sensible heat flux and heat release from canopy biomass in tall forest in order to improve the quantification of evaporation.
Sojung Park, Seon Ki Park, Jeung Whan Lee, and Yunho Park
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3435–3452, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3435-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3435-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the precipitation characteristics is essential to design an optimal observation network. We studied the spatial and temporal characteristics of summertime precipitation systems in Korea via geostatistical analyses on the ground-based precipitation and satellite water vapor data. We found that, under a strict standard, an observation network with higher resolution is required in local areas with frequent heavy rainfalls, depending on directional features of precipitation systems.
Wenbin Liu, Fubao Sun, Yanzhong Li, Guoqing Zhang, Yan-Fang Sang, Wee Ho Lim, Jiahong Liu, Hong Wang, and Peng Bai
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 351–371, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-351-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-351-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The dynamics of basin-scale water budgets over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are not well understood nowadays due to the lack of hydro-climatic observations. In this study, we investigate seasonal cycles and trends of water budget components (e.g. precipitation P, evapotranspiration ET and runoff Q) in 18 TP river basins during the period 1982–2011 through the use of multi-source datasets (e.g. in situ observations, satellite retrievals, reanalysis outputs and land surface model simulations).
Harsh Beria, Trushnamayee Nanda, Deepak Singh Bisht, and Chandranath Chatterjee
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6117–6134, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6117-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6117-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
High-quality satellite precipitation forcings have provided a viable alternative to hydrologic modeling in data-scarce regions. Ageing TRMM sensors have recently been upgraded to GPM, promising enhanced spatio-temporal resolutions. Statistical and hydrologic evaluation of GPM measurements across 86 Indian river basins revealed improved low rainfall estimates with reduced effects of climatology and topography.
James C. Bennett, Quan J. Wang, David E. Robertson, Andrew Schepen, Ming Li, and Kelvin Michael
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6007–6030, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6007-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6007-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We assess a new streamflow forecasting system in Australia. The system is designed to meet the need of water agencies for 12-month forecasts. The forecasts perform well in a wide range of rivers. Forecasts for shorter periods (up to 6 months) are generally informative. Forecasts sometimes did not perform well in a few very dry rivers. We test several techniques for improving streamflow forecasts in drylands, with mixed success.
Konrad Bogner, Katharina Liechti, and Massimiliano Zappa
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5493–5502, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5493-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5493-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The enhanced availability of many different weather prediction systems nowadays makes it very difficult for flood and water resource managers to choose the most reliable and accurate forecast. In order to circumvent this problem of choice, different approaches for combining this information have been applied at the Sihl River (CH) and the results have been verified. The outcome of this study highlights the importance of forecast combination in order to improve the quality of forecast systems.
Matthew B. Switanek, Peter A. Troch, Christopher L. Castro, Armin Leuprecht, Hsin-I Chang, Rajarshi Mukherjee, and Eleonora M. C. Demaria
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2649–2666, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2649-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2649-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The commonly used bias correction method called quantile mapping assumes a constant function of error correction values between modeled and observed distributions. Our article finds that this function cannot be assumed to be constant. We propose a new bias correction method, called scaled distribution mapping, that does not rely on this assumption. Furthermore, the proposed method more explicitly accounts for the frequency of rain days and the likelihood of individual events.
Tesfay G. Gebremicael, Yasir A. Mohamed, Pieter v. Zaag, and Eyasu Y. Hagos
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2127–2142, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2127-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2127-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study was conducted to understand the spatio-temporal variations of streamflow in the Tekezē basin. Results showed rainfall over the basin did not significantly change. However, streamflow experienced high variabilities at seasonal and annual scales. Further studies are needed to verify hydrological changes by identifying the physical mechanisms behind those changes. Findings are useful as prerequisite for studying the effects of catchment management dynamics on the hydrological processes.
Louise Crochemore, Maria-Helena Ramos, Florian Pappenberger, and Charles Perrin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1573–1591, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1573-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1573-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The use of general circulation model outputs for streamflow forecasting has developed in the last decade. In parallel, traditional streamflow forecasting is commonly based on historical data. This study investigates the impact of conditioning historical data based on circulation model precipitation forecasts on seasonal streamflow forecast quality. Results highlighted a trade-off between the sharpness and reliability of forecasts.
Louise Crochemore, Maria-Helena Ramos, and Florian Pappenberger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3601–3618, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3601-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3601-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the way bias correcting precipitation forecasts can improve the skill of streamflow forecasts at extended lead times. Eight variants of bias correction approaches based on the linear scaling and the distribution mapping methods are applied to the precipitation forecasts prior to generating the streamflow forecasts. One of the main results of the study is that distribution mapping of daily values is successful in improving forecast reliability.
P. Froidevaux, J. Schwanbeck, R. Weingartner, C. Chevalier, and O. Martius
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 3903–3924, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3903-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-3903-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate precipitation characteristics prior to 4000 annual floods in Switzerland since 1961. The floods were preceded by heavy precipitation, but in most catchments extreme precipitation occurred only during the last 3 days prior to the flood events. Precipitation sums for earlier time periods (like e.g. 4-14 days prior to floods) were mostly average and do not correlate with the return period of the floods.
G. H. Fang, J. Yang, Y. N. Chen, and C. Zammit
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2547–2559, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2547-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2547-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This study compares the effects of five precipitation and three temperature correction methods on precipitation, temperature, and streamflow through loosely coupling RCM (RegCM) and a distributed hydrological model (SWAT) in terms of frequency-based indices and time-series-based indices. The methodology and results can be used for other regions and other RCM and hydrologic models, and for impact studies of climate change on water resources at a regional scale.
M. S. Siam and E. A. B. Eltahir
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1181–1192, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1181-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1181-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This paper explains the different natural modes of interannual variability in the flow of the Nile River and also presents a new index based on the sea surface temperature (SST) over the southern Indian Ocean to forecast the flow of the Nile River. It also presents a new hybrid forecasting algorithm that can be used to predict the Nile flow based on indices of the SST in the eastern Pacific and southern Indian oceans.
D. Halwatura, A. M. Lechner, and S. Arnold
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1069–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1069-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1069-2015, 2015
G. Panthou, T. Vischel, T. Lebel, G. Quantin, and G. Molinié
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 5093–5107, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5093-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5093-2014, 2014
D. Masson and C. Frei
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4543–4563, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4543-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4543-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
The question of how to utilize information from the physiography/topography in the spatial interpolation of rainfall is a long-standing discussion in the literature. In this study we test ideas that go beyond the approach in popular interpolation schemes today. The key message of our study is that these ideas can at best marginally improve interpolation accuracy, even in a region where a clear benefit would intuitively be expected.
A. Casanueva, C. Rodríguez-Puebla, M. D. Frías, and N. González-Reviriego
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 709–725, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-709-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-709-2014, 2014
D. H. Yan, D. Wu, R. Huang, L. N. Wang, and G. Y. Yang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 2859–2871, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2859-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2859-2013, 2013
F. Yusof, I. L. Kane, and Z. Yusop
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1311–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1311-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1311-2013, 2013
J. H. Lee, J. Timmermans, Z. Su, and M. Mancini
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 4291–4302, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4291-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4291-2012, 2012
L. Gudmundsson, J. B. Bremnes, J. E. Haugen, and T. Engen-Skaugen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 3383–3390, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3383-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3383-2012, 2012
T. Bosshard, S. Kotlarski, T. Ewen, and C. Schär
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 2777–2788, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2777-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2777-2011, 2011
S. Nie, J. Zhu, and Y. Luo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 2437–2457, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2437-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2437-2011, 2011
G. Ibarra-Berastegi, J. Saénz, A. Ezcurra, A. Elías, J. Diaz Argandoña, and I. Errasti
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1895–1907, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1895-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1895-2011, 2011
R. Schiemann, R. Erdin, M. Willi, C. Frei, M. Berenguer, and D. Sempere-Torres
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1515–1536, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1515-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1515-2011, 2011
A. Lü, S. Jia, W. Zhu, H. Yan, S. Duan, and Z. Yao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1273–1281, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1273-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1273-2011, 2011
G. Wang, A. J. Dolman, and A. Alessandri
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 57–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-57-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-57-2011, 2011
Cited articles
Ahrens, C. D., Jackson, P. L., and Jackson, C. E. J.: Meteorology Today: An
introduction to weather, climate, and the environment, Second Canadian
edition, Nelson Education, ISBN-13: 978-0176530792, 2015.
American Meteorological Society: Chinook, Glossary of Meteorology, available at: http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Chinook (last access date: 2 April 2020), 2012.
American Meteorological Society: Glossary of Meteorology, available at:
http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Main_Page (last access:
3 October 2019), 2018.
Auer Jr., A. H.: The rain versus snow threshold temperatures, Weatherwise,
27, 67–67, 1974.
Beltaos, S., Prowse, T., Bonsal, B., Mackay, R., Romolo, L., Pietroniro, A.,
and Toth, B.: Climatic effects on ice-jam flooding of the Peace-Athabasca
Delta, Hydrol. Process., 20, 4031–4050, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6418,
2006.
Bonsal, B. R. and Prowse, T. D.: Trends and variability in spring and autumn
0 ∘C-isotherm dates over Canada, Climatic Change, 57, 341–358,
https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1022810531237, 2003.
Boone, A., Masson, V., Meyers, T., and Noilhan, J.: The influence of the
inclusion of soil freezing on simulations by a soil–vegetation–atmosphere
transfer scheme, J. Appl. Meteorol., 39, 1544–1569, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2000)039<1544:TIOTIO>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Bresson, É., Laprise, R., Paquin, D., Thériault, J., and Elía,
R. D.: Evaluating the ability of CRCM5 to simulate mixed precipitation,
Atmos.-Ocean, 55, 79–93, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2017.1310084, 2017.
Brinkmann, W. and Ashwell, I.: The structure and movement of the chinook in
Alberta, Atmosphere, 6, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1080/00046973.1968.9676548, 1968.
Bush, E. and Lemmen, D. S. (Eds.): Canada's changing climate report,
Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 444 pp., 2019.
Carrière, J.-M., Lainard, C., Bot, C. L., and Robart, F.: A
climatological study of surface freezing precipitation in Europe,
Meteorol. Appl., 7, 229–238, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1350482700001560,
2000.
Changnon, S. A.: Characteristics of ice storms in the United States, J.
Appl. Meteorol., 42, 630–639,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2003)042<0630:coisit>2.0.co;2,
2003.
Cortinas, J.: A climatology of freezing rain in the Great Lakes region of
North America, Mon. Weather Rev., 128, 3574–3588,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2001)129<3574:acofri>2.0.co;2,
2000.
Dai, A.: Temperature and pressure dependence of the rain-snow phase
transition over land and ocean, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L12802, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033295, 2008.
ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada): Historical Climate Data
portal, available at: http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca, last
access: 3 October 2019a.
ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada): MANOBS (Manual of Surface
Weather Observation Standards), 8th Edition, available at:
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/weather-manuals-documentation/manobs-surface-observations.html,
last access: 3 October 2019b.
ECCC (Environment and Climate Change Canada): Canadian Climate Normals,
available at: http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html, last access: 24 October 2019c.
Frei, C. and Schär, C.: Detection probability of trends in rare
events: Theory and application to heavy precipitation in the Alpine region,
J. Climate, 14, 1568–1584, 2001.
Fujibe, F.: On the near-0 ∘C. frequency maximum in surface air
temperature under precipitation: A statistical evidence for the melting
effect, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn., 79, 731–739,
2001.
Groenemeijer, P., Becker, N., Djidara, M., Gavin, K., Hellenberg, T.,
Holzer, A. M., Juga, I., Jokinen, P., Jylhä, K., Lehtonen, I.,
Mäkelä, H., Napoles, O., Nissen, K., Paprotny, D., Prak, P.,
Púčik, T., Tijssen L., and Vajda, A.: Past Cases of Extreme Weather
Impact on Critical Infrastructure in Europe. Office of Critical
Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness, FP7-SEC-2013-1, 129 pp., 2017.
Groisman, P. Y., Bulygina, O. N., Yin, X., Vose, R. S., Gulev, S. K.,
Hanssen-Bauer, I., and Førland, E.: Recent changes in the frequency of
freezing precipitation in North America and Northern Eurasia, Environ.
Res. Lett., 11, 045007, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/045007, 2016.
Gullett, D. W. and Skinner, W. R.: The state of Canada's climate: temperature change in Canada 1895-1991, SOE Report no. 92-2. Catalogue No. En 1-11/92-2E.A, State of the Environment Report, ISSN 0843-6193, Toronto, ON, Environment Canada, 1992.
Hare, K.: Canada's climate: An overall perspective, in: “The Surface
Climates of Canada”, McGill-Queen's University Press, 3–20, 1997.
Henson, W., Stewart, R., and Kochtubajda, B.: On the precipitation and
related features of the 1998 Ice Storm in the Montréal area, Atmos.
Res., 83, 36–54, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2006.03.006, 2007.
Henson, W., Stewart, R., Kochtubajda, B., and Thériault, J.: The 1998 Ice
Storm: Local flow fields and linkages to precipitation, Atmos.
Res., 101, 852–862, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.05.014, 2011.
Houston, T. G. and Changnon, S. A.: Freezing rain events: a major weather
hazard in the conterminous US, Nat. Hazards, 40, 485–494,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-006-9006-0, 2007.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Climate Change 2013: The Physical
Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: Stocker, T. F.,
Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M., Allen, S. K., Boschung, J., Nauels,
A., Xia, Y., Bex, V., and Midgley, P. M., Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp.,
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324, 2013.
Jennings, K. S., Winchell, T. S., Livneh, B., and Molotch, N. P.: Spatial
variation of the rain–snow temperature threshold across the Northern
Hemisphere, Nat. Commun., 9, 1148, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03629-7,
2018.
Jeong, D. I., Cannon, A. J., and Zhang, X.: Projected changes to extreme freezing precipitation and design ice loads over North America based on a large ensemble of Canadian regional climate model simulations, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 857–872, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-19-857-2019, 2019.
Kämäräinen, M., Hyvärinen, O., Jylhä, K., Vajda, A., Neiglick, S., Nuottokari, J., and Gregow, H.: A method to estimate freezing rain climatology from ERA-Interim reanalysis over Europe, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 243–259, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-17-243-2017, 2017.
Keim, B. D. and Cruise, J. F.: A technique to measure trends in the
frequency of discrete random events, J. Climate, 11, 848–855, 1998.
Kendall, M. B.: Rank Correlation Methods, Hafner Publishing Company, New
York, 1955.
Kerry, M., Kelk, G., Etkin, D., Burton, I., and Kalhok, S.: Glazed over: Canada
copes with the Ice Storm of 1998, Environment, 41, 6–11, 1999.
Kienzle, S. W.: A new temperature based method to separate rain and snow,
Hydrol. Process., 22, 5067–5085, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7131, 2008.
Klaassen, J., Cheng, C. S., Auld, H., Li, Q., Ros, E., Geast, M., Li, G., and
Lee, R.: Estimation of Severe Ice Storm Risks for South-Central Canada.
Report prepared for Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and
Emergency Preparedness, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment
Canada, Toronto, Canada, 2003.
Kochtubajda, B., Mooney, C., and Stewart, R.: Characteristics, atmospheric
drivers and occurrence patterns of freezing precipitation and ice pellets
over the Prairie Provinces and Arctic Territories of Canada: 1964–2005,
Atmos. Res., 191, 115–127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.03.005,
2017.
Kraatz, S., Jacobs, J. M., and Miller, H. J.: Spatial and temporal
freeze-thaw variations in Alaskan roads, Cold Reg. Sci.
Technol., 157, 149–162, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.10.006, 2019.
Lambert, S. J. and Hansen, B. K.: Simulated changes in the freezing rain
Climatology of North America under global warming using a coupled climate
model, Atmos.-Ocean, 49, 289–295, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2011.607492,
2011.
Larouche, P. and Galbraith, P. S.: Canadian coastal seas and Great Lakes Sea
Surface Temperature climatology and recent trends, Can. J.
Remote Sens., 42, 243–258, https://doi.org/10.1080/07038992.2016.1166041, 2016.
Laute, K. and Beylich, A. A.: Potential effects of climate change on future
snow avalanche activity in western Norway deduced from meteorological data,
Geogr. Ann. A, 100, 163–184,
https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.2018.1425622, 2018.
Lecomte, E. L., Pang, A. W., and Russell, J. W.: Ice Storm '98. Institute for
Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Toronto, Ontario, Research Paper Series 1, 37 pp., 1998.
Lindenschmidt, K.-E., Das, A., Rokaya, P., and Chu, T.: Ice-jam flood risk
assessment and mapping, Hydrol. Process., 30, 3754–3769,
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10853, 2016.
Longley, R. W.: The frequency of winter chinooks in Alberta, Atmosphere,
5, 4–16, https://doi.org/10.1080/00046973.1967.9676538, 1967.
MacKay, G. A. and Thompson, H. A.: Estimating the hazard of ice accretion in
Canada from climatological data, J. Appl. Meteorol., 8,
927–935, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1969)008<0927:ethoia>2.0.co;2, 1969.
Matsuo, T. and Sasyo, Y.: Empirical formula for the melting rate of
snowflakes, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. Ser. II, 59,
1–9, https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj1965.59.1_1, 1981a.
Matsuo, T. and Sasyo, Y.: Melting of snowflakes below freezing level in the
atmosphere, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. Ser. II, 59,
10–25, https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj1965.59.1_10, 1981b.
Matsuo, T., Sasyo, Y., and Sato, Y.: Relationship between types of
precipitation on the ground and surface meteorological elements, J.
Meteorol. Soc. Jpn. Ser. II, 59, 462–476,
https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj1965.59.4_462, 1981.
Matte, D., Thériault, J. M., and Laprise, R.: Mixed precipitation
occurrences over southern Québec, Canada, under warmer climate
conditions using a regional climate model, Clim. Dynam., 53, 1125–1141,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4231-2, 2019.
McCullagh, P. and Nelder, J. A.: Generalized linear models, 2nd ed.,
Monogr. on Statistics and Appl. Probability, No. 37, Chapman and Hall,
London, UK, 1989.
McFadden, V. and Thériault, J. M.: Simulations of the ice storm in
the Maritime Provinces on 24–26 January 2017, Canadian Meteorological and
Oceanographic Society Congress, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2018.
McKenney, D. W., Pedlar, J. H., Lawrence, K., Papadopol, P., Campbell, K.,
and Hutchinson, M. F.: Change and evolution in the plant hardiness zones of
Canada, BioScience, 64, 341–350, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu016, 2014.
Mekis, É., Vincent, L. A., Shephard, M. W., and Zhang, X.: Observed trends in severe weather conditions based on humidex, wind chill, and heavy rainfall events in Canada for 1953–2012, Atmos.-Ocean, 53, 383–397, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2015.1086970, 2015.
Mekis, E., Donaldson, N., Reid, J., Zucconi, A., Hoover, J., Li, Q., Nitu,
R., and Melo, S.: An overview of surface-based precipitation observations at
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Atmos.-Ocean, 56, 71–95,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2018.1433627, 2018.
Mendoza, G.-P. and Schmunk, R.: Fraser Valley ice storm creates slippery
roads, leaves thousands without power | CBC News, CBCnews, available at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fraser-valley-winter-storm-december-2017-1.4467154 (last access: 2 April 2020),
2017.
Milton, J. and Bourque, A.: A climatological account of the January 1998 Ice
Storm in Québec, Atmospheric Sciences and Environmental Issues Division,
Environment Canada, Québec Region, 87 pp., 1999.
Moen, J. and Fredman, P.: Effects of climate change on alpine skiing in
Sweden, J. Sustain. Tour., 15, 418–437,
https://doi.org/10.2167/jost624.0, 2007.
Nitu, R., Roulet, Y. A., Wolff, M., Earle, M., Reverdin, A., Smith, C.,
Kochendorfer, J., Morin, S., Rasmussen, R., Wong, K., Alastrué, J.,
Arnold, L., Baker, B., Buisán, S., Collado, J. L., Colli, M., Collins,
B., Gaydos, A., Hannula, H. R., Hoover, J., Joe, P., Kontu, A., Laine, T.,
Lanza, L., Lanzinger, E., Lee, G. W., Lejeune, Y., Leppänen, L., Mekis,
E., Panel, J. M., Poikonen, A., Ryu, S., Sabatini, F., Theriault, J., Yang,
D., Genthon, C., van den Heuvel, F., Hirasawa, N., Konishi, H., Nishimura,
K., and Senese, A.: WMO Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment
(SPICE) (2012–2015), World Meteorological Organization Instruments and
Observing Methods Report No. 131, Geneva, 2018.
Nkemdirim, L. C.: Canada's chinook belt, Int. J.
Climatol., 16, 441–462,
https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0088(199604)16:4< 441::aid-joc21>3.0.co;2-t, 1996.
Phillips, D.: The Climates of Canada, Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa,
176 pp., 1990.
Sen, P. K.: Estimates of the regression coefficient Based on Kendall's tau,
J. Am. Stat. Assoc., 63, 1379–1389,
https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1968.10480934, 1968.
Sims, E. M. and Liu, G.: A parameterization of the probability of snow–rain
transition, J. Hydrometeorol., 16, 1466–1477,
https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-14-0211.1, 2015.
Stewart, R. and Patenaude, L.: Rain-snow boundaries and freezing
precipitation in Canadian East Coast winter storms, Atmos.-Ocean, 26,
377–398, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.1988.9649309, 1988.
Stewart, R. E.: Precipitation types in winter storms, Pure Appl.
Geophys., 123, 597–609, 1985.
Stewart, R. E. and Yiu, D. T.: Distributions of precipitation and associated
parameters across precipitation type transitions over southern Ontario,
Atmos. Res., 29, 153–178, https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-8095(93)90002-6,
1993.
Stewart, R. E., Isaac, G. A., and Shaw, R. W.: Canadian Atlantic Storms
Program: The meteorological field project, B. Am.
Meteorol. Soc., 68, 338–345,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1987)068<0338:casptm>2.0.co;2,
1987.
Stewart, R. E., Bachand, D., Dunkley, R., Giles, A., Lawson, B., Legal, L.,
Miller, S., Murphy, B., Parker, M., Paruk, B., and Yau, M.: Winter storms
over Canada, Atmos.-Ocean, 33, 223–247,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.1995.9649533, 1995a.
Stewart, R. E., Yui, D. T., Chung, K. K., Hudak, D. R.,
Lozowski, E. P., Oleskiw, M., Sheppard, B. E., and Szeto, K. K.: Weather
conditions associated with the passage of precipitation type transition
regions over Eastern Newfoundland, Atmos.-Ocean, 33, 25–53, 1995b.
Stewart, R. E., Szeto, K. K., Bonsal, B. R., Hanesiak, J. M., Kochtubajda, B., Li, Y., Thériault, J. M., DeBeer, C. M., Tam, B. Y., Li, Z., Liu, Z., Bruneau, J. A., Duplessis, P., Marinier, S., and Matte, D.: Summary and synthesis of Changing Cold Regions Network (CCRN) research in the interior of western Canada – Part 1: Projected climate and meteorology, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3437–3455, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3437-2019, 2019.
Stuart, R. and Isaac, G.: Freezing precipitation in Canada,
Atmos.-Ocean, 37, 87–102, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.1999.9649622, 1999.
Takeuchi, Y., Kodama, Y., and Ishikawa, N.: The thermal effect of melting
snow/ice surface on lower atmospheric temperature, Arct. Antarct.
Alp. Res., 34, 20–25, https://doi.org/10.2307/1552504, 2002.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Snow hydrology: Summary report of the snow
investigations, North Pacific Division, Portland, Ore, 437 pp., 1956.
Vincent, L. A., Zhang, X., Brown, R. D., Feng, Y., Mekis, E., Milewska, E.
J., Wan, H., and Wang, X. L.: Observed trends in Canada's climate and
influence of low-frequency variability modes, J. Climate, 28,
4545–4560, https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-14-00697.1, 2015.
Vincent, L. A., Zhang, X., Mekis, E., Wan, H., and Bush, E. J.: Changes in
Canada's climate: Trends in indices based on daily temperature and
precipitation data, Atmos.-Ocean, 56, 332–349,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2018.1514579, 2018.
Wang, X. L.: Climatology and trends in some adverse and fair weather
conditions in Canada, 1953–2004, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D09105,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006155, 2006.
Wasserstein, R. L., Schirm, A. L., and Lazar, N. A.: Moving to a world beyond
“p < 0.05”, Am. Stat., 73, 1–19, 2019.
Wexler, R., Reed, R. J., and Honig, J.: Atmospheric cooling by melting snow,
B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 35, 48–51,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477-35.2.48, 1954.
WMO (World Meteorological Organization): International Cloud Atlas Manual on the
Observation of Clouds and Other Meteors, (WMO-No. 407), available at:
https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/home.html (last access: 1 April 2020), 2017.
Yang, D., Goodison, B. E., Metcalfe, J. R., Golubev, V. S., Elomaa, E.,
Gunther, T., Bates, R., Pangburn, T., Hanson, C., Emerson, D., Copaciu, V.,
and Milkovic, J.: Accuracy of Tretyakov precipitation gauge: Result of WMO
intercomparison, Hydrol. Process., 9, 877–895,
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.3360090805, 1995.
Yang, D., Goodison, B. E., Metcalfe, J. R., Golubev, V. S., Bates, R.,
Pangburn, T., and Hanson, C. L.: Accuracy of NWS 8” standard nonrecording
precipitation gauge: Results and application of WMO Intercomparison, J.
Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 15, 54–68,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(1998)015<0054:AONSNP>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Zhang, X., Vincent, L. A.,
Hogg, W., and Niitsoo, A.: Temperature and precipitation trends in Canada
during the 20th century, Atmos.-Ocean, 38, 395–429,
https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2000.9649654, 2000.
Zhang, X., Brown, R., Vincent, L., Skinner, W., Feng, Y., and Mekis, É.: Canadian climate trends, 1950–2007, Canadian biodiversity: Ecosystem status and trends 2010, (Technical Thematic Report No. 5), Canadian Councils of Resource Ministers, Ottawa, Ontario, iv +21 pp., available at: http://www.biodivcanada.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=137E1147-0 (last access: 2 April 2020), 2011.
Short summary
This article provides a Canada-wide analysis of near-0°C temperature conditions (±2°C) using hourly surface temperature and precipitation type observations from 92 locations for the 1981–2011 period. Higher annual occurrences were found in Atlantic Canada, although high values also occur in other regions. Trends of most indicators show little or no change despite a systematic warming over Canada. A higher than expected tendency for near-0°C conditions was also found at some stations.
This article provides a Canada-wide analysis of near-0°C temperature conditions (±2°C) using...
