The purpose of our study is to address questions related to Reclamation and NOAA/CIRES research needs in the area of understanding extreme precipitation events in the Intermountain West, including: 1) What are the preferred pathways for moisture to reach the Intermountain West? 2) How do the moisture sources and synoptic processes, especially atmospheric rivers, influence extreme precipitation events? 3) How are the pathways/extreme events influenced by climate factors such as ENSO and the MJO? 4) How well do high-resolution models simulate heavy precipitation events? If so how can model-generated diagnostics and sensitivity experiments be used to better understand the processes that result in intense precipitation? 5) How can the results best be used to address water resource management and dam safety issues?
Project Extension
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The purpose of our study is to address questions related to Reclamation and NOAA/CIRES research needs in the area of understanding extreme precipitation events in the Intermountain West, including: 1) What are the preferred pathways for moisture to reach the Intermountain West? 2) How do the moisture sources and synoptic processes, especially atmospheric rivers, influence extreme precipitation events? 3) How are the pathways/extreme events influenced by climate factors such as ENSO and the MJO? 4) How well do high-resolution models simulate heavy precipitation events? If so how can model-generated diagnostics and sensitivity experiments be used to better understand the processes that result in intense precipitation? 5) How can the results best be used to address water resource management and dam safety issues?