A Comparison of North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program Output and Oklahoma Mesonet Observations: Precipitation and Temperature

Authors

Emma L. Kuster, University of OklahomaFollow
Charlotte E. Lunday, University of OklahomaFollow
Renee A. McPherson, University of OklahomaFollow

Abstract

In this study, we compare precipitation and temperature model output from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) against observations from the 120-station Oklahoma Mesonet . Our goal is to better understand how well the combinations of global and regional climate models in NARCCAP represent the gradients, diurnal cycles, and seasonality of precipitation and temperature across Oklahoma . Although several studies have compared NARCCAP output to surface observations, this research is the first comparing regional climate model output with observations from such a rich source of quality surface observations . Our results showed that warm season precipitation was underestimated, while warm season temperatures were typically overestimated . However, several models overestimated precipitation and underestimated temperatures during cold season months . The minima and maxima rainfall were depicted 3 to 6 hours earlier than observations recorded, while minima and maxima daily temperatures were reached 1 to 3 hours before observations in some models

Recommended Citation

Kuster, Emma L.; Lunday, Charlotte E.; and McPherson, Renee A. (2015) "A Comparison of North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program Output and Oklahoma Mesonet Observations: Precipitation and Temperature," The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 56: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol56/iss2/4