Kamnani et al. (2026) Co‐Occurring Weather Systems Vary by Atmospheric River Scale Across the United States

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Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-18
• Authors: Diya Kamnani, Travis Allen O'Brien, Wei-Ming Tsai, Kwesi Twentwewa Quagraine, J. David Neelin, Jennifer L. Catto, Yang Zhou, Lai-Yung Ruby Leung, William R. Boos, Hongsheng Wang
• DOI: 10.1029/2026gl123975

Research Groups

• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Short Summary

This study investigates the spatiotemporal overlap between Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) and other weather systems, such as fronts, low-pressure systems, and mesoscale convective systems. The research reveals that AR + Front combinations dominate in many regions of the conterminous U.S.

Objective

• Investigate how Atmospheric Rivers co-occur with other weather systems and their impact on precipitation and flood risk

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Continental scale, focusing on the conterminous United States
• Temporal Scale: Year-round analysis, with seasonal variations examined in detail

Methodology and Data

• Models used: ERA5-derived feature masks
• Data sources: Satellite data (e.g., precipitation estimates)

Main Results

• AR + Front combinations dominate across much of the conterminous U.S.
• Higher AR scales (4–5) exhibit more complex MCS-related combinations, particularly in DJF and MAM along the West Coast
• LPS-related co-occurrences appear mainly in JJA and SON and are confined to regions such as the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Pacific genesis regions

Contributions

• Provides new insights into the spatiotemporal overlap between ARs and other weather systems, shedding light on their combined impact on precipitation and flood risk

Funding

• This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant number [insert grant number]

Citation

@article{Kamnani2026CoOccurring,
  author = {Kamnani, Diya and O'Brien, Travis Allen and Tsai, Wei-Ming and Quagraine, Kwesi Twentwewa and Neelin, J. David and Catto, Jennifer L. and Zhou, Yang and Leung, Lai-Yung Ruby and Boos, William R. and Wang, Hongsheng},
  title = {Co‐Occurring Weather Systems Vary by Atmospheric River Scale Across the United States},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2026gl123975},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2026gl123975}
}