Running dry: The U.S. Southwest's drift into a drier climate state

摘要: Changes in precipitation have far-reaching consequences on human society and ecosystems as has been demonstrated by recent severe droughts California the Oklahoma region. Droughts are beside tropical cyclones most costly weather climate related extreme events U.S. We apply a type (WT) analysis to reanalysis data from 1979–2014 that characterize typical conditions over contiguous United States. This enables us assign trends within 1980–2010 changes WT frequencies intensities. show North Atlantic Midwest region intensity major driver of increasing trends. In Southwest, however, frequency lead significant decrease up −25% an increase anticyclonic East Pacific. trend is partly counteracted