Drivers of Snowfall: A Global to Regional Perspective

Abstract:

As global climate model resolution has increased, so has our ability to model snow, particularly in mountainous regions. Global drivers of snowfall relate to large-scale circulation patterns and temperature thresholds being met. Locally, different snowfall signals can occur among adjoining mountains due to differences in topography or regional circulation. This talk will explore projections and predictions of snow in various NOAA GFDL global models of different complexity at the global scale and relate these findings with those of two case studies: the western United States and the Karakoram. It will highlight the difficulties of predicting snowpack and areas for improving model predictions.