Three Western Pacific Typhoons Strengthened Fire Weather in the Recent Northwest U.S. Conflagration

15Citations
Citations of this article
27Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Strong winds that accentuated a fire outbreak in the western United States in early September of 2020 resulted from an atmospheric wave train that spanned the Pacific Ocean. Days before the atmospheric waves developed in the United States, three western Pacific tropical cyclones (typhoons) underwent an extratropical transition over Korea within an unprecedentedly short span of 12 days. Using a climate diagnostic approach and historical forecast data, it was found that the amplitude of the atmospheric waves accompanying the western U.S. fire weather would not have been so profound if not for the influence of these typhoons. Together, the recurving typhoons provided a significant source of wave activity flux directed toward North America – amplifying the ridge over the U.S. west coast while deepening the trough in central Canada. This anomalous circulation produced the severe frontal system that caused extreme winds in western Oregon, Washington and California – rapidly spreading fire.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Stuivenvolt Allen, J., Simon Wang, S. Y., LaPlante, M. D., & Yoon, J. H. (2021). Three Western Pacific Typhoons Strengthened Fire Weather in the Recent Northwest U.S. Conflagration. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(3). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091430

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free