Multi‐Year Analysis of Rain‐Snow Levels at Marquette, Michigan

Abstract

Precipitation is changing as the climate warms. In northern mid and high latitudes, warming is resulting in a shift from snow to rain (Bintanja & Andry, 2017;Tamang et al., 2020). In the Upper Great Lakes region, the mean annual wet-bulb temperature is increasing, and snowfall and snowfall-precipitation ratio is decreasing (Tamang et al., 2020). Rainfall in the place of snowfall impacts water resources (Knowles et al., 2006), and glacier mass balance (Perry et al., 2017;Schauwecker et al., 2017), and potentially the global energy balance (Screen & Simmonds, 2012). Observed changes in precipitation including a reduction in heavy snow cover and the shift from snow to rain impacts soil moisture, watershed hydrology, and streamflow in the Midwest and Great Lakes region (Byun et al., 2019). From a societal standpoint, precipitation processes also impact transportation safety. Hazardous wintertime events such as freezing rain result in especially dangerous conditions that affect vehicle crash risks (Tobin et al., 2021). The height of the melting level in the atmosphere influences the precipitation phase at the surface (

Marine Cold‐Air Outbreak Snowfall in the North Atlantic: A CloudSat Perspective

“…If the phase determination is inconclusive in the 2C‐PRECIP‐COLUMN product, a secondary test in the 2C‐SNOW‐PROFILE product will flag precipitation as snow if the surface temperature is below freezing and the derived precipitation melt fraction at the surface is $${\le} $$0.1. If the precipitation melt level within the CPR profile is misidentified, however, this may lead to incorrect phase identification and consequently impact snowfall rate estimates (Shates et al., 2023). Snowfall rate is then derived in the 2C‐SNOW‐PROFILE product, an optimal estimation algorithm that uses CPR reflectivity alongside ancillary temperature and cloud mask data to identify a cloud layer producing snow.…”

“…However, most oceanic snowfall rates detected by CloudSat are light (<1 mm hr −1 ) and therefore less affected by attenuation (Hiley et al, 2011;Kulie et al, 2016;Matrosov, 2007). Additionally, the CPR is susceptible to ground-clutter contamination that can exceed 1 km over land surfaces (i.e., the radar "blind zone"), thus rendering near-surface CPR observations unreliable (Bennartz et al, 2019;Durden et al, 2010;Kulie & Bennartz, 2009;McIlhattan et al, 2017McIlhattan et al, , 2020Shates et al, 2023). However, a reduced blind zone over ocean (∼600 m, Maahn et al, 2014) lessens the uncertainty in using CloudSat data to examine marine cold-air outbreak (MCAO) conditions.…”

A Comprehensive Northern Hemisphere Particle Microphysics Data Set From the Precipitation Imaging Package

“…This NWS office is positioned 13 km southwest from Lake Superior, set on a gently rising slope at 426 m.a.s.l. surrounded by a mixed northern hardwood-conifer forest (46.532°N, 87.548°E; (Shates et al, 2023)).…”

“…This NWS office is positioned 13 km southwest from Lake Superior, set on a gently rising slope at 426 m.a.s.l. surrounded by a mixed northern hardwood‐conifer forest (46.532°N, −87.548°E; (Shates et al., 2023)). The PIP is situated in a flat, open field adjacent to the office, in an area specifically maintained by the NWS for monitoring snow accumulation.…”