Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-633-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-633-2026
Research article
 | 
22 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 22 Apr 2026

Understanding biases and changes in European heavy precipitation using dynamical flow precursors

Joshua Oldham-Dorrington, Camille Li, Stefan Sobolowski, and Robin Guillaume-Castel

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Cited articles

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Addor, N., Rohrer, M., Furrer, R., and Seibert, J.: Propagation of Biases in Climate Models from the Synoptic to the Regional Scale: Implications for Bias Adjustment, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 2075–2089, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024040, 2016. a
Beck, H. E., Wood, E. F., Pan, M., Fisher, C. K., Miralles, D. G., van Dijk, A. I. J. M., McVicar, T. R., and Adler, R. F.: MSWEP V2 Global 3-Hourly 0.1° Precipitation: Methodology and Quantitative Assessment, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 100, 473–500, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0138.1, 2019. a, b
Brands, S.: Common Error Patterns in the Regional Atmospheric Circulation Simulated by the CMIP Multi-Model Ensemble, Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL101 446, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL101446, 2022. a
Cassano, J. J., Uotila, P., Lynch, A. H., and Cassano, E. N.: Predicted Changes in Synoptic Forcing of Net Precipitation in Large Arctic River Basins during the 21st Century, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 112, G04S49, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JG000332, 2007. a
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Short summary
The future of heavy precipitation in Europe is uncertain, and precipitation can be poorly represented in climate models. To understand model heavy precipitation better we break it into two steps. Firstly, we assess how frequently rainfall-favouring weather patterns occur. Secondly, we assess how often heavy precipitation occurs during those patterns. By doing so, we better understand model bias and forced changes, making current climate models more usable now and easier to improve going forward.
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