General Information

Observed decadal mean annual precipitation change (deviations from the 1901-1960 average, %) for the Southwest U.S. (black line Based on a new gridded version of COOP data from the National Climatic Data Center, the CDDv2 data set (R. Vose, personal communication, July 27, 2012). Gray lines indicate the 20th and 21st century simulations from 15 CMIP3 models, for the high (A2) emissions scenario. Observed precipitation variations show greater variability than the model simulations.

Data Type:

Observed

Simulated

Variable Type:

Precipitation

Region:

Southwest

Associated Report:

Regional Climate Trends and Scenarios for the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Part 5. Climate of the Southwest U.S.