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The semi-arid US Intermountain West is characterized by complex hydroclimatic variability, influenced both by topography and by atmosphere and ocean processes operating over a large range of time and space scales. Understanding climate–hydrology interactions has become increasingly important as demands on water resources grow from both within and beyond the region, particularly in light of projected climate changes. This paper reviews key atmospheric and oceanic controls that impact the Intermountain West’s water supply, how those controls vary over multiple timescales, the tree-ring record of hydroclimatic variability in the region, projected climate change impacts, and research needs for the future. Water availability in the Intermountain West is largely influenced by interrelated atmospheric features that include the strength and position of the Pacific subtropical high, the intensity and geographic location of the Aleutian low, the latitude of the westerly storm track, and teleconnections such as the Pacific North American pattern and the El Niño−Southern Oscillation system. The tree-ring record of pre-instrumental conditions in the Intermountain West indicates that there have been droughts in the past that were more severe than those experienced in the historical record. Climate model projections of future moisture-related changes, including decreased snowpack and changing seasonality of precipitation, may exacerbate strain on the region’s water supply. Advances in climate modeling and in our understanding of climate variability over multiple time and space scales would improve capacity for water resource management in the Intermountain West. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An examination of five temperature and five precipitation extreme indicators reveals an increase in both temperature and precipitation extremes over the 1926–2000 period in the northeast United States, with most of this increase occurring over the past four decades. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of winter frost days (FD) and warm nights (TN90) and also winter consecutive dry days (CDD) and very wet days (R95T) over the 1950–2000 period reveals that some of the variability associated with changes in these extremes may be explained by variations in the Arctic Oscillation (AO), El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern. The most prominent feature of these results was the high correlation between the leading EOF of frost days and warm nights and the AO. Winter composites of temperature and precipitation extreme indicators were examined for different phases of the AO and ENSO during the 1926–2000 period. Overall, the AO is a better predictor of winter warm nights, while the ENSO is a better predictor of consecutive dry days in the northeast United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ observations of surface air and dewpoint temperatures and air pressure from over 15 000 weather stations and from ships are used to calculate surface specific (q) and relative (RH) humidity over the globe (60°S–75°N) from December 1975 to spring 2005. Seasonal and interannual variations and linear trends are analyzed in relation to observed surface temperature (T) changes and simulated changes by a coupled climate model [namely the Parallel Climate Model (PCM)] with realistic forcing. It is found that spatial patterns of long-term mean q are largely controlled by climatological surface temperature, with the largest q of 17–19 g kg-1 in the Tropics and large seasonal variations over northern mid- and high-latitude land. Surface RH has relatively small spatial and interannual variations, with a mean value of 75%–80% over most oceans in all seasons and 70%–80% over most land areas except for deserts and high terrain, where RH is 30%–60%. Nighttime mean RH is 2%–15% higher than daytime RH over most land areas because of large diurnal temperature variations. The leading EOFs in both q and RH depict long-term trends, while the second EOF of q is related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During 1976–2004, global changes in surface RH are small (within 0.6% for absolute values), although decreasing trends of -0.11% ∼ -0.22% decade-1 for global oceans are statistically significant. Large RH increases (0.5%–2.0% decade-1) occurred over the central and eastern United States, India, and western China, resulting from large q increases coupled with moderate warming and increases in low clouds over these regions during 1976–2004. Statistically very significant increasing trends are found in global and Northern Hemispheric q and T. From 1976 to 2004, annual q (T) increased by 0.06 g kg-1 (0.16°C) decade-1 globally and 0.08 g kg-1 (0.20°C) decade-1 in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemispheric q trend is positive but statistically insignificant. Over land, the q and T trends are larger at night than during the day. The largest percentage increases in surface q (∼1.5% to 6.0% decade-1) occurred over Eurasia where large warming (∼0.2° to 0.7°C decade-1) was observed. The q and T trends are found in all seasons over much of Eurasia (largest in boreal winter) and the Atlantic Ocean. Significant correlation between annual q and T is found over most oceans (r = 0.6–0.9) and most of Eurasia (r = 0.4–0.8), whereas it is insignificant over subtropical land areas. RH–T correlation is weak over most of the globe but is negative over many arid areas. The q–T anomaly relationship is approximately linear so that surface q over the globe, global land, and ocean increases by ∼4.9%, 4.3%, and 5.7% per 1°C warming, respectively, values that are close to those suggested by the Clausius–Clapeyron equation with a constant RH. The recent q and T trends and the q–T relationship are broadly captured by the PCM; however, the model overestimates volcanic cooling and the trends in the Southern Hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]