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Present Weather and Climate: Average Conditions 61monsoon (Figure 4.3c). This region also receives less wintertime precipitation due tothe predominant westerly flow and drying influence of upstream mountain ranges. Incentral Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado, the seasonal cycle of precipitation is not aspronounced, but generally peaks from March to May (Figure 4.3d). Areas not identifiedin Figure 4.3 do not have strong seasonal precipitation variations.Figure 4.3 Majorspatial patterns ofmonthly varyingprecipitation over theSouthwest, 1901–2010. Source: PRISMClimate Group, OregonState University (http://prism.oregonstate.edu).
62 assessment of climate change in the southwest united statesSnowfall, snowpack, and water resourcesA large fraction of the precipitation in the upper-elevations of the Southwest falls assnow, which serves as the primary source of water for the region and enables a wintertourism economy involving skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and other recreationalactivities. In the Sierra Nevada and mountains of Utah and Colorado, more than60% of the annual precipitation falls as snow (Serreze et al. 1999). Snowier locations inthe Sierra Nevada, Wasatch Mountains, and Colorado Rockies average over thirty feetof snow annually, with lesser amounts in other ranges of the Southwest (Steenburghand Alcott 2008). Snowfall provides a smaller fraction of the annual precipitation in themountains of Arizona and southern New Mexico where winter storms are less frequentand the monsoon dominates in the summer (Serreze et al. 1999; Stewart, Cayan, and Dettinger2004).The mountain snowpack that develops during the winter serves as a natural waterreservoir for the western United States. Snowmelt and runoff during the spring andsummer provide most of the surface water resources for the region, with 50% to 90% ofthe total runoff occurring during the April to July snowmelt runoff season in most Southwestdrainage basins (Serreze et al. 1999; Stewart, Cayan, and Dettinger 2004, 2005).4.3 Major Climate and Weather EventsThe Southwest is susceptible to hazardous and costly weather and climate events. Thegreatest social and environmental impacts come from drought, winter storms, floods,thunderstorms, temperature extremes, and air pollution.DroughtThe Southwest is susceptible to periods of dryness that can span months to years. Themost significant and severe droughts persist for multiple years and result from a diminishedfrequency or intensity of winter storms (Cayan et al. 2010; Woodhouse et al. 2010).Although water storage and delivery infrastructure (such as dams, reservoirs, canals,and pipelines) helps stabilize municipal water supplies during these droughts, rural, agricultural,and recreational impacts are still sometimes substantial. Seasonal and multiyeardroughts also affect wildfire severity (Westerling et al. 2003). Parts of the Southwestexperienced relatively wet conditions during the 1980s and 1990s followed by reducedprecipitation beginning around 2000 (Cayan et al. 2010). This, in combination with wildfiresuppression and land management practices (Allen et al. 2002), contributed to wildfiresof unprecedented size, with five states (Arizona in 2002 and 2011; Colorado in 2002;Utah in 2007; California in 2003; and New Mexico in 2011 and 2012) experiencing theirlargest fires on record at least once during the last decade. Past climatic conditions, reconstructedfrom tree rings, suggest that droughts lasting up to several decades haveoccurred in the Colorado River Basin approximately once or twice per century duringthe last 500 to 1,000 years (Figure 4.5) (Grissino-Mayer and Swetnam 2000; Woodhouse2003; Meko et al. 2007; Woodhouse et al. 2010).Drought characteristics vary across the Southwest. For example, Colorado, which hasmultiple sources of precipitation throughout the year, is less prone to lengthy droughts(Redmond 2003). Droughts in Arizona and New Mexico tend to be strongly related to
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National Climate Assessment Regiona
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Assessment of Climate Changein the
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Abbreviations and AcronymsxiiiNIDIS
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WEATHER AND CLIMATE OF THE SOUTHWES
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Airport infrastructure 182Vehicular
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Wildfires 317Permissive ecology 317
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20.2 Developing Research Strategies
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2 assessment of climate change in t
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112 assessment of climate change in
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Chapter 7Future Climate: Projected
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136 Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, an
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Chapter 8Natural EcosystemsCoordina
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Chapter 9Coastal IssuesCoordinating
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Chapter 11Agriculture and RanchingC
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Agriculture and Ranching 221water (
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Agriculture and Ranching 223additio
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Agriculture and Ranching 225Irrigat
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Agriculture and Ranching 227may exa
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Agriculture and Ranching 229Dry war
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Agriculture and Ranching 231River w
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Agriculture and Ranching 233decline
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Agriculture and Ranching 235Another
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Agriculture and Ranching 237Howitt,
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Agriculture and Ranching 239Torell,
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Energy: Supply, Demand, and Impacts
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Chapter 13Urban AreasCoordinating L
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Urban Areas 269• Monitoring for c
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Urban Areas 271Figure 13.3 FEMA 100
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Urban Areas 273Urban processes that
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Urban Areas 275Figure 13.7 Embodied
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Urban Areas 277Atmospheric CO 2conc
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Urban Areas 279infrastructure to ha
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Urban Areas 281Figure 13.10 Per cap
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Urban Areas 283in high-fire-zone ar
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Urban Areas 285California, such inv
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Urban Areas 287Figure 13.14 Number
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Figure 13.16 Average annual rainfal
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Urban Areas 291that may then become
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Urban Areas 293Eidlin, E. 2010. Wha
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Urban Areas 295Quevauviller, P. 201
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Chapter 14TransportationCoordinatin
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Transportation 299This chapter begi
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Transportation 301Transportation se
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Transportation 303Other needed chan
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Transportation 305Table 14.2 Potent
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Transportation 307Disruptions to th
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Transportation 309ReferencesAlpert,
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Transportation 311Seager, R., M. Ti
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Human Health 313establish policy gu
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Human Health 315Figure 15.1 Hazy vi
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Human Health 317Heat waves (periods
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Human Health 319expected to be more
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Human Health 321Figure 15.52010 Wil
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Human Health 323by climate in multi
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Human Health 325Figure 15.6 Duststo
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Human Health 327throughout the year
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Human Health 329Box 15.2Linking Dat
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Human Health 331Co-benefitsThough t
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Human Health 333Davis, D. H. S. 195
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Human Health 335Jack, D. W., and P.
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Human Health 337Parmenter, R. R., E
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Human Health 339Vedal, S., and S. J
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Climate Change and U.S.-Mexico Bord
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Chapter 17Unique Challenges FacingS
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Unique Challenges Facing Southweste
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Chapter 18Climate Choices for a Sus
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Climate Choices for a Sustainable S
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Moving Forward with Imperfect Infor
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Research Strategies for Addressing
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GlossaryA2 - a greenhouse gas emiss
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Glossary 485or drift) from an exter
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Glossary 487crassulacean acid metab
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Glossary 489evapotranspiration - th
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Glossary 491heating degree days - a
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Glossary 493misery days - days wher
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Glossary 495peer-review - the revie
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Glossary 497sediment load - the amo
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Glossary 499knowledge. Two primary
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Authors and Review EditorsChapter 1
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Authors and Review Editors 503Cruz)
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Authors and Review Editors 505Chapt
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Assessment of Climate Change in the
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