Science Source
The Pacific quasi‐decadal oscillation (QDO): An important precursor toward anticipating major flood events in the Missouri River Basin?
- States that measurements taken by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites indicated a continued water storage increase over the Missouri River Basin (MRB) prior to the 2011 flood event
- States that an analysis of the major hydrologic variables in the MRB, i.e., those of soil moisture, streamflow, groundwater storage, and precipitation, show a marked variability at the 10–15 year time scale coincident with the water storage increase
- Conducts a climate diagnostic analysis to determine what climate forcing conditions preceded the long‐term changes in these variables
- Finds that precipitation over the MRB undergoes a profound modulation during the transition points of the Pacific quasi‐decadal oscillation and associated teleconnections
- The results infer a prominent teleconnection forcing in driving the wet/dry spells in the MRB, and this connection implies persistence of dry conditions for the next 2 to 3 years
