Advances in the subseasonal prediction of extreme events: relevant case studies across the globe

Extreme weather events have devastating impacts on human health, economic activities, ecosystems, and infrastructure. It is therefore crucial to anticipate extremes and their impacts to allow for preparedness and emergency measures. There is indeed potential for probabilistic subseasonal prediction...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Domeisen, Daniela I. V., White, Christopher J., Afargan Gerstman, Hilla, Muñoz, Ángel G., Janiga, Matthew A., Lledó, Llorenç|||0000-0002-8628-6876, Manrique Suñén, Andrea, Palma, Lluis, Soret, Albert|||0000-0002-1962-2972
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/371614
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/371614
https://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0221.1
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Extreme weather
Climate change
Heatwaves (Meteorology)
Madden-Julian oscillation
Severe storms
Ensembles
Forecast verification/skill
Probability forecasts/models/distribution
Flood events
Simulació per ordinador
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Ciències de la terra i de la vida::Climatologia i meteorologia
Descrição
Resumo:Extreme weather events have devastating impacts on human health, economic activities, ecosystems, and infrastructure. It is therefore crucial to anticipate extremes and their impacts to allow for preparedness and emergency measures. There is indeed potential for probabilistic subseasonal prediction on time scales of several weeks for many extreme events. Here we provide an overview of subseasonal predictability for case studies of some of the most prominent extreme events across the globe using the ECMWF S2S prediction system: heatwaves, cold spells, heavy precipitation events, and tropical and extratropical cyclones. The considered heatwaves exhibit predictability on time scales of 3–4 weeks, while this time scale is 2–3 weeks for cold spells. Precipitation extremes are the least predictable among the considered case studies. ­Tropical cyclones, on the other hand, can exhibit probabilistic predictability on time scales of up to 3 weeks, which in the presented cases was aided by remote precursors such as the Madden–Julian oscillation. For extratropical cyclones, lead times are found to be shorter. These case studies clearly illustrate the potential for event-dependent advance warnings for a wide range of extreme events. The subseasonal predictability of extreme events demonstrated here allows for an extension of warning horizons, provides advance information to impact modelers, and informs communities and stakeholders affected by the impacts of extreme weather events.