Extremes are particularly important elements of climate in the Southeastern United States. Since 1980, the Southeast has been involve in more billion-dollar weather and climate disasters than any other region in the country, largely due to hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. Is this reflective of a changing climate, or increasing population and industry across the the region? The objectives of this study were to 1) assess annual spatial and temporal trends in temperature and precipitation extremes from 1948 to 2012 for the Southeast, 2) examine seasonal trends in temperature and precipitation extremes, and 3) develop a regionalization of extreme variability across the region.
Publications:
Powell, E. J., and B. D. Keim, 2015: Trends in Daily Temperature and Precipitation Extremes for the Southeastern United States: 1948-2012. Journal of Climate 28:1592-1612. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00410.1