Cloud radiative effects associated with daily weather regimes

Stormy weather has a disproportionate impact on Earth’s radiation budget. Credit: NOAA

This research Investigates the effect of high-impact storms on Earth’s radiation budget, in order to better constrain climate models and improve weather and climate forecasts. Using detailed satellite observations and reanalysis data, the author categorized daily weather patterns into different types and measured the cloud radiative effects (CRE) associated with each type. The weather patterns included non-precipitation days, drizzle, wet non-storm days, and storm days, encompassing events like atmospheric rivers, tropical storms, and mesoscale convective systems.

The results show that precipitation days, which include both drizzle and wet days, contribute to about 80% of global longwave (LW) and shortwave (SW) CRE due to their high frequency and intensity. Even though storm days are rare globally (only 13%), they collectively contribute to approximately 32% of global LW CRE and 27% of SW CRE because of their stronger impact on both LW and SW CRE. These findings are important for understanding how different weather systems influence the Earth’s radiation balance and will help improve the accuracy of climate models.