Role of atmospheric resonance and land–atmosphere feedbacks as a precursor to the June 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome event
Xueke Li, Michael Mann, Michael Wehner, Stefan Rahmstorf, Stefan Petri, Shannon Christiansen, Judit Carrillo
Abstract
We demonstrate an indirect, rather than direct, role of quasi-resonant amplification of planetary waves in a summer weather extreme. We find that there was an interplay between a persistent, amplified large-scale atmospheric circulation state and soil moisture feedbacks as a precursor for the June 2021 Pacific Northwest "Heat Dome" event. An extended resonant planetary wave configuration prior to the event created an antecedent soil moisture deficit that amplified lower atmospheric warming through strong nonlinear soil moisture feedbacks, favoring this unprecedented heat event.
Topics & Concepts
Atmosphere (unit)Dome (geology)Environmental scienceAtmospheric sciencesEvent (particle physics)ClimatologyAtmospheric modelHeat waveAtmospheric circulationMoistureWater contentGeologyMeteorologyClimate changeGeographyPhysicsOceanographyPaleontologyQuantum mechanicsGeotechnical engineeringClimate variability and modelsMeteorological Phenomena and SimulationsTropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research