California Central Valley Summer Heat Waves Form Two Ways*

Abstract

Abstract California Central Valley (CCV) heat waves are grouped into two types based on the temporal and spatial evolution of the large-scale meteorological patterns (LSMPs) prior to onset. The k-means clustering of key features in the anomalous temperature and zonal wind identifies the two groups. Composite analyses show different evolution prior to developing a similar ridge–trough–ridge pattern spanning the North Pacific at the onset of CCV hot spells. Backward trajectories show adiabatic heating of air enhanced by anomalous sinking plus horizontal advection as the main mechanisms to create hot lower-tropospheric air just off the Northern California coast, although the paths differ between clusters. The first cluster develops the ridge at the west coast on the day before onset, consistent with wave activity flux traveling across the North Pacific. Air parcels that arrive at the maximum temperature anomaly (just off the Northern California coast) tend to travel a long distance across the Pacific from the west. The second cluster has the ridge in place for several days prior to extreme CCV heat, but this ridge is located farther north, with heat anomaly over the northwestern United States. This ridge expands south as air parcels at midtropospheric levels descend from the northwest while lower-level parcels over land tend to bring hot air from directions ranging from the hot area to the northeast to the desert areas to the southeast. These two types reveal unexpected dynamical complexity, hint at different remote associations, and expand the assessment needed of climate models’ simulations of these heat waves.