It's raining cats and dogs – quite literally. Starting in the tropics, so-called "atmospheric rivers" form over the oceans, often carrying twice as much water as the entire Amazon. When these "sky monsters" make landfall in western Europe, extreme precipitation follows. Climate researchers at the University of Graz have developed a new method to analyse and predict these atmospheric rivers more accurately.

"Atmospheric rivers primarily strike the western coastlines of continents and can penetrate several hundred kilometres inland. In Europe, the countries most affected are in particular the United Kingdom, the Iberian Peninsula, and France. In extreme cases, offshoots can reach Germany and Switzerland," reports meteorologist Ulrich Foelsche. The scientist recalls Storm Desmond, which devastated Ireland and the United Kingdom around ten years ago. And he expects atmospheric rivers to intensify further in the course of climate change. That makes information not only about their volume, but also about their movement and spread, all the more important.

New method… read more at: uni-graz.at