Wednesday January 18, 2023
Northern California Public Media —
The series of atmospheric rivers hitting the west coast have caused serious damage to infrastructure. The storms are also being studied extensively, including by Ryan Torn.
“My work relates to understanding what is the predictability of landfall atmospheric rivers on the west coast of the United States,” Torn said.
Torn is the chair of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the State University of New York at Albany, and a researcher of atmospheric rivers at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes.
“What are the factors in the processes that allow us to predict those features well in some circumstances,” Torn said. “And what are the circumstances and processes that create a lack of predictability?”
With the increasing volatility of atmospheric rivers, Torn said the research is needed.