A Climatology of Atmospheric Rivers in the Northeastern United States

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) have been a frequently studied phenomenon along the west coast of the United States. ARs in the northeastern United States have received considerably less attention. The purpose of this study is to analyze atmospheric rivers in the northeast by creating a five year climatology spanning 2013-2017. Atmospheric rivers in the northeast correlate with integrated vapor transport (IVT) values greater than 250 kg/m/s, over a length of 2000 km long, with a width of generally less than or equal to 1000 km wide. It is shown that January features the highest frequency of ARs with the majority lasting less than 24 hours. During the summer months, ARs tend to be less frequent but most of the summer ARs last longer than 24 hours. Thus, ARs are actually present for a similar amount of time in both the winter and summer months in the northeastern United States. Spatially, ARs are more likely to be present along the coast and over the oceanic regions of the northeast when compared to inland regions.