Articles | Volume 29, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1201-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-29-1201-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 03 Mar 2025
| 03 Mar 2025
Are dependencies of extreme rainfall on humidity more reliable in convection-permitting climate models?
Geert Lenderink
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
R&D Weather and Climate, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Nikolina Ban
Department of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Erwan Brisson
Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (CNRM), Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, Toulouse, France
Ségolène Berthou
Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK
Virginia Edith Cortés-Hernández
Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (CNRM), Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, Toulouse, France
Elizabeth Kendon
Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK
Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Hayley J. Fowler
School of Engineering and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Hylke de Vries
R&D Weather and Climate, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
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Short summary
Future extreme rainfall events are influenced by changes in both absolute and relative humidity. The impact of increasing absolute humidity is reasonably well understood, but the role of relative humidity decreases over land remains largely unknown. Using hourly observations from France and the Netherlands, we find that lower relative humidity generally leads to more intense rainfall extremes. This relation is only captured well in recently developed convection-permitting climate models.
Future extreme rainfall events are influenced by changes in both absolute and relative humidity....
