TY - JOUR
T1 - Snow-eater heatwaves of the western United States
AU - Rhoades, A. M.
AU - North, Joshua
AU - Rudisill, William
AU - Hatchett, Benjamin J.
AU - Risser, Mark D.
AU - Beltran-Pena, Areidy
AU - Heggli, Anne
AU - Hotalling, Scott
AU - Huning, Laurie S.
AU - LaPlante, Matthew D.
AU - Mahesh, Ankur
AU - Marshall, Adrienne
AU - McCrary, Rachel
AU - McEvoy, Daniel J.
AU - Rahimi-Esfarjani, Stefan
AU - Raleigh, Mark S.
AU - Randall, Calen
AU - Srivastava, Abhishekh K.
AU - Wehner, Michael
AU - Zhou, Yang
AU - Jones, Andrew D.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Abrupt snowmelt, triggered by rain-on-snow events or ``snow-eater heatwaves'', can cause flooding, accelerate snow drought, and impact water availability. Yet the characteristics (e.g., area, duration, and frequency), impacts, and trends of snow-eater heatwaves have received relatively little attention. To address this gap, we developed a method to identify snow-eater heatwaves and estimate their melt potential using Twentieth Century Reanalysis Version 3 air temperature data, the TempestExtremes algorithm, and an operational snowmelt model (SNOW-17) across 1850–2015. Melt season snow-eater heatwaves typically last 3–5 days, with 3–5 events, doubling snowmelt rates. Seven of 11 spring superfloods can be linked with snow-eater heatwaves. Since the 1850s, snow-eater heatwaves have increased in area and frequency, decreased in duration, and shifted earlier in the melt season. Incorporating snow-eater heatwave impacts into SNOW-17 improves extreme snowmelt estimates, providing additional tools to support water management.
AB - Abrupt snowmelt, triggered by rain-on-snow events or ``snow-eater heatwaves'', can cause flooding, accelerate snow drought, and impact water availability. Yet the characteristics (e.g., area, duration, and frequency), impacts, and trends of snow-eater heatwaves have received relatively little attention. To address this gap, we developed a method to identify snow-eater heatwaves and estimate their melt potential using Twentieth Century Reanalysis Version 3 air temperature data, the TempestExtremes algorithm, and an operational snowmelt model (SNOW-17) across 1850–2015. Melt season snow-eater heatwaves typically last 3–5 days, with 3–5 events, doubling snowmelt rates. Seven of 11 spring superfloods can be linked with snow-eater heatwaves. Since the 1850s, snow-eater heatwaves have increased in area and frequency, decreased in duration, and shifted earlier in the melt season. Incorporating snow-eater heatwave impacts into SNOW-17 improves extreme snowmelt estimates, providing additional tools to support water management.
M3 - Article
SN - 0930-7575
JO - Climate Dynamics
JF - Climate Dynamics
ER -