The American Meteorological Society continuously publishes research on climate, weather, and water in its 12 journals. Many of these articles are available for early online access–they are peer-reviewed, but not yet in their final published form. Below are some recent examples of online and early-online research.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
What follows are summaries which have not been peer-reviewed or vetted by the article authors; read the full article for peer-reviewed conclusions. Please note that no single study is ever definitive, and each must be taken in the context of the broader scientific literature.
The Climatological Relationship between U.S. Tornadoes and Extratropical Cyclones
Monthly Weather Review
Extratropical cyclones may be driving tornadoes’ geographic shift. Tornadoes often form in low pressure systems called extratropical cyclones, yet the relationship between the two has not received much research attention. A new study finds a strong covarying spatial and temporal relationship, which may explain why U.S. tornado activity has been found to be shifting southeastward. It may also offer a pathway to better predict how tornado activity may respond to global climate change.
Global Increase in Tropical Cyclone Rapid Slowdown Events in Offshore Regions
Journal of Climate
Coastal areas see increases in slow-moving hurricanes. Tropical cyclone (TC) damage is correlated with the length of time the storm stays over a given area–therefore slower-moving storms are often more dangerous. This paper finds a global fourfold increase in TC “rapid slowdown” events in areas within 400 km of a coastline from 1982 to 2023 (open ocean trends remain unchanged), and this change is more strongly related to an increase in TC rapid intensification than overall steering flow.
Regional Analysis of Snow Presence Trends in the Northern Hemisphere
Journal of Hydrometeorology
Snow cover trends downward in the Northern Hemisphere. A study dividing the Northern Hemisphere into a grid and measuring snow presence/absence trends in each grid cell since 1980 finds that 23.8% of cells exhibited negative snow cover trends, while 9.4 percent saw increased snow cover. Negative trends were highest in Europe and central Asia as well as at the southern extremes reached by snow cover. In general, early-season snow cover shows increasing trends, while late-season snow cover shows decreasing trends.
Improving Climate Services for Tribes: Recommendations from a National Survey of Service Users and Providers
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Native Tribes need more support to address and adapt to climate change. A survey of Tribal climate services users in the contiguous U.S. and Alaska found that respondents value a wide range of climate services, especially grants, tools, training, and networks. Yet they need more tailored and accessible data that are relevant to Tribal decision-making, including climate information tailored to their geographic areas.
How Frequent Will the Rarest Daily Rainfall Records of Hurricane Ida’s Remnants Be in the Future?
Journal of Hydrometeorology
Hurricane Ida’s rare extreme Northeast rainfall may be as much as five times more likely by 2100. Daily rainfall totals in parts of the Northeastern United States from Hurricane Ida approached 100-year extremes. A new modeling study suggests that, under a high-emissions global warming scenario, these rare daily rainfall extremes could become up to five times more likely in the same areas by the end of the 21st century.
It’s a Snow Day! How Winter Weather Extremes Affect School Bus Cancellations
Weather, Climate, and Society
Mixed precipitation is a more frequent cause of school bus cancellations than snow in Ontario. Five years’ worth of data on Ontario schools in winter reveals that the province’s northern “snow belt” had fewer days when school buses were canceled than schools in the middle of the province. This paper’s authors identify a mid-province “slush zone” in which bus cancellations were twice as likely as in southern Ontario, with mixed precipitation (rain and snow on the same day) the most frequent cause.
Multiday Precipitation Extremes Are Projected to Become Less Likely in Southern Pakistan
Journal of Hydrometeorology
Global warming may significantly reduce the odds of extreme rainfall and floods in Pakistan. Extreme multi-day monsoon rainfall such as occurred in 2022 in southern Pakistan (killing more than 1,000 people and causing billions of dollars’ worth of damage) may become far, far less likely in the region. They could decline to 22% of their current frequency under high-emissions global warming scenarios, according to a modeling study.
The Relationship between Climate Change Concerns, Fertility Awareness, and Desire to Have Children among Women of Reproductive Age: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Weather, Climate, and Society
Concern about climate change is positively associated with Turkish women’s desire to have children. A cross-sectional study of women in reproductive age found that measures of climate change concern, as well as awareness of fertility issues, were positively associated with women’s desire to reproduce. This is likely because women with higher education and higher income (77.9% and 57.4%, respectively, in the study) tend to be more environmentally aware, but is in contrast to other studies showing a decrease in desire to reproduce based on climate change.
You can view all research published in AMS Journals at journals.ametsoc.org.