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High‐Tide Floods and Storm Surges During Atmospheric Rivers on the US West Coast

ABSTRACT: Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) cause inland hydrological impacts related to precipitation. However, little is known about coastal hazards associated with these events. We elucidate high‐tide floods (HTFs) and storm surges during ARs on the US West Coast during 1980–2016. HTFs and ARs cooccur more often than expected from chance. Between 10% and 63% of HTFs coincide with ARs on average, depending on location. However, interannual‐to‐decadal variations in HTFs are due more to tides and mean sea‐level changes than storminess variability. Only 2–15% of ARs coincide with HTFs, suggesting that ARs typically must cooccur with high tides or mean sea levels to cause HTFs. Storm surges during ARs reflect local wind, pressure, and precipitation forcing: meridional wind and barometric pressure are primary drivers, but precipitation makes secondary contributions. This study highlights the relevance of ARs to coastal impacts, clarifies the drivers of storm surge during ARs, and identifies future research directions. Key Points HTFs on the US West Coast cooccur with landfalling ARs more often than expected from random chance Between 10% and 63% of HTFs observed by tide gauges coincide with landfalling ARs, depending on location Meridional wind and barometric pressure make primary contributions to storm surge during ARs, but rainfall can also have a secondary effect

SUBMITTER: Piecuch C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9539697 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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