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Role of atmospheric resonance and land-atmosphere feedbacks as a precursor to the June 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome event.

Xueke LiMichael E MannMichael F WehnerStefan RahmstorfStefan PetriShannon ChristiansenJudit Carrillo
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2024)
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.
Keyphrases
  • heat stress
  • particulate matter
  • energy transfer
  • climate change
  • plant growth
  • carbon dioxide
  • air pollution
  • nucleic acid
  • solid state