Hu et al. (2026) Understanding Subseasonal Moisture Recycling from Extreme MCSs Using a Land–Atmosphere Coupled Water Tracer Model

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrometeorology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Huancui Hu, L. Ruby Leung, Zhe Feng, James Marquis, Kôichi Sakaguchi
• DOI: 10.1175/jhm-d-25-0091.1

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study uses a novel land–atmosphere coupled water tracer tool within the WRF Model to quantify the subseasonal impacts of extreme mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in May 2015 over the southern Great Plains on terrestrial water storage and moisture recycling. It reveals that earlier MCS precipitation significantly contributes to later evapotranspiration and local precipitation, with a rapid turnover in May-June, and demonstrates far-reaching downstream moisture recycling contributions.

Objective

• To reveal the contributions of precipitation from extreme mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) to different terrestrial water storages and moisture recycling during May–July over the southern Great Plains.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Southern Great Plains region; atmospheric moisture plumes extending 500–700 km downstream.
• Temporal Scale: May–July 2015, with specific focus on May, the first 5 days in June, and throughout June and July.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, enhanced with a new land–atmosphere coupled water tracer tool.
• Data sources: Modeling study using the WRF Model with a custom tracer tool; no external observational, satellite, or reanalysis data sources are explicitly mentioned in the abstract.

Main Results

• Precipitation from earlier MCSs in May contributed 20%–50% of total evapotranspiration (ET) in later May.
• Earlier MCS precipitation contributed approximately 10% of local precipitation for later MCSs in May.
• Water "tagged" to preceding May MCS events showed the most active contribution to moisture recycling during the first 5 days of June, diminishing rapidly thereafter.
• A quick turnover of tagged precipitation was observed in the southern Great Plains, primarily associated with direct evaporation from the soil surface due to predominant shrubland and grassland coverage.
• In some forested areas, tracer-ET flux was dominated by transpiration, supplying a small fraction (<1%) of moisture to the atmosphere consistently throughout June and July.
• The tracer-contributed plume in atmospheric moisture extended 500–700 km downstream between May and July, indicating significant far-reaching contributions to moisture recycling and precipitation.

Contributions

• Introduction and application of a new land–atmosphere coupled water tracer tool embedded in the WRF Model to track precipitation contributions.
• Quantification of the subseasonal impacts of extreme precipitation events on terrestrial water storages and moisture recycling.
• Elucidation of the rapid turnover of precipitation contributions in the southern Great Plains and the distinct roles of different land cover types (shrubland/grassland vs. forest) in moisture recycling.
• Demonstration of the far-reaching downstream influence of extreme precipitation events on atmospheric moisture and subsequent precipitation.

Funding

Not specified in the provided abstract.

Citation

@article{Hu2026Understanding,
  author = {Hu, Huancui and Leung, L. Ruby and Feng, Zhe and Marquis, James and Sakaguchi, Kôichi},
  title = {Understanding Subseasonal Moisture Recycling from Extreme MCSs Using a Land–Atmosphere Coupled Water Tracer Model},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrometeorology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1175/jhm-d-25-0091.1},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-25-0091.1}
}