Atmospheric River Rapids and Their Role in the Extreme Rainfall Event of April 2023 in the Middle East

Diana Francis; Ricardo Fonseca; Deniz Bozkurt; Narendra Nelli; Bin Guan

doi:10.1029/2024GL109446

Atmospheric River Rapids and Their Role in the Extreme Rainfall Event of April 2023 in the Middle East

Diana Francis, Ricardo Fonseca, Deniz Bozkurt, Narendra Nelli, Bin Guan

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3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The mesoscale dynamics of a record-breaking Atmospheric River (AR) that impacted the Middle East in mid-April 2023 and caused property damage and loss of life are investigated using model, reanalysis and observational data. The high-resolution (2.5 km) simulations revealed the presence of AR rapids, narrow and long convective structures embedded within the AR that generated heavy precipitation (>4 mm hr⁻¹) as they moved at high speeds (>30 m s⁻¹) from northeastern Africa into western Iran. Gravity waves triggered by the complex terrain in Saudi Arabia further intensified their effects. Given the rising frequency of ARs in this region, AR rapids may be even more impactful in a warming climate, and need to be accounted for in reanalysis and numerical models.

Original language	British English
Article number	e2024GL109446
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	51
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109446
State	Published - 28 Jun 2024

Keywords

atmospheric river rapids
flash floods
ground-based observations
Middle East
multi-scale convection
WRF modeling

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10.1029/2024GL109446

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title = "Atmospheric River Rapids and Their Role in the Extreme Rainfall Event of April 2023 in the Middle East",

abstract = "The mesoscale dynamics of a record-breaking Atmospheric River (AR) that impacted the Middle East in mid-April 2023 and caused property damage and loss of life are investigated using model, reanalysis and observational data. The high-resolution (2.5 km) simulations revealed the presence of AR rapids, narrow and long convective structures embedded within the AR that generated heavy precipitation (>4 mm hr−1) as they moved at high speeds (>30 m s−1) from northeastern Africa into western Iran. Gravity waves triggered by the complex terrain in Saudi Arabia further intensified their effects. Given the rising frequency of ARs in this region, AR rapids may be even more impactful in a warming climate, and need to be accounted for in reanalysis and numerical models.",

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AU - Francis, Diana

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AU - Nelli, Narendra

AU - Guan, Bin

PY - 2024/6/28

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AB - The mesoscale dynamics of a record-breaking Atmospheric River (AR) that impacted the Middle East in mid-April 2023 and caused property damage and loss of life are investigated using model, reanalysis and observational data. The high-resolution (2.5 km) simulations revealed the presence of AR rapids, narrow and long convective structures embedded within the AR that generated heavy precipitation (>4 mm hr−1) as they moved at high speeds (>30 m s−1) from northeastern Africa into western Iran. Gravity waves triggered by the complex terrain in Saudi Arabia further intensified their effects. Given the rising frequency of ARs in this region, AR rapids may be even more impactful in a warming climate, and need to be accounted for in reanalysis and numerical models.

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Atmospheric River Rapids and Their Role in the Extreme Rainfall Event of April 2023 in the Middle East

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