Open AccessEl Niño‐induced flooding in the U.S. West: What can we expect?
Author(s) -
Pizarro Gonzalo,
Lall Upmanu
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2002eo000255
Subject(s) - flooding (psychology) , flood myth , climatology , pacific decadal oscillation , el niño southern oscillation , southern oscillation , geography , pacific ocean , environmental science , oceanography , geology , psychology , archaeology , psychotherapist
Ocean conditions in the tropical Pacific seem to be signaling the emergence of another El Niño event. Even though it is uncertain what will happen in the next two to three seasons, climate forecasting centers are beginning to advise planners in ENSO‐sensitive regions to review their contingency plans. Here, we examine the potential for floods in the western United States as measured by the annual maximum flood in the region. The timing (figure 1) and causes of the annual maximum flood vary across the western United States. Nevertheless, correlations of the annual maximum flood with January‐April averages of the NIN03 and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) indices are statistically significant over large, contiguous areas in the region, irrespective of the dominant season of occurrence and the operative climate mechanism.