Recent Increase in the Occurrence of Snow Droughts Followed by Extreme Heatwaves in a Warmer World

Abstract

The compound of late winter snow droughts and early spring heatwaves (compound snow drought and heatwave (CSDHW)) could dramatically affect ecosystems and water availability, but has not been systematically investigated. Here we present a comprehensive assessment of CSDHW events and possible driving mechanisms. We find that 7% of the snow‐covered area experiences significant (p < 0.05) CSDHW events, and an average of 35% of snow droughts are followed by heatwaves during 1981–2020. The spatial extent of CSDHW is asymmetrically enlarging, with a significant increase in Eurasia and a relatively high fluctuation in North America. Specifically, the warm‐type CSDHW (i.e., snow drought with normal or above‐average precipitation followed by heatwave) occurs more frequently, with spatial coverage increasing faster than the dry‐type CSDHW (i.e., snow drought with below‐average precipitation followed by heatwave). In comparison, dry snow drought is more likely to be followed by heatwave due to intensified soil drought and atmospheric aridity.

A Vine Copula‐Based Ensemble Projection of Precipitation Intensity–Duration–Frequency Curves at Sub‐Daily to Multi‐Day Time Scales

“…The past decade has witnessed a number of rare heavy rainfall events in many countries leading to catastrophic flooding or landslides, as exemplified by recent events in Zhengzhou, China (Yin et al., 2022), New York, USA (The Washington Post, 2021), western Germany (Reuters, 2021), Milan Malpensa Airport, Italy (Wanted in Milan, 2021), and Singapore (FloodList, 2021). Zhengzhou was hit by massive flooding on 20 July 2021 due to an unprecedented 622.7 mm of rain that fell in 24 hr, which led to 292 known deaths and affected more than 11 million people, despite having invested over $80 million since 2016 in upgrading urban infrastructure (Li & Wang, 2022; Yin et al., 2022). The intensity and frequency of heavy rainfall events are expected to increase under a warming climate, as highlighted in recent studies and the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Qing et al., 2022; Seneviratne et al., 2021; Zhu et al., 2018).…”

Improving Risk Projection and Mapping of Coastal Flood Hazards Caused by Typhoon-Induced Storm Surges and Extreme Sea Levels

“…The total inundation areas would increase to up to 10,200 square meters by 2100, which is comparable with those induced by Typhoon Mangkhut and Hato. It should be noted that such an inundation projection is solely based on the mean sea level and the risks would further increase if the projected extreme sea level was taken into account [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51].…”

Is Snow Drought a Messenger for the Upcoming Severe Drought Period? A Case Study in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

“…Moreover, changing sowing dates of major crops (corn and soybean) cause crop biomass and yield fluctuations (Abendroth et al, 2017;Baum et al, 2019;Lou et al, 2021). Li and Wang (2022) found that 35% of snow droughts were followed by heatwaves during 1981-2020. These snow impact studies show that snow-related analysis need to be conducted in different vulnerable basins and shared using watershed information systems for planning and management (Demir and Beck, 2009).…”