Atmospheric Rivers Workshop

On March 6th and 7th, PCIC, partnering with the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, held the BC Atmospheric River Events: State of the Knowledge Workshop at the Laurel Point Inn, in Victoria, BC. The event drew Climatologists, forecasters, emergency responders and policy advisors from across the Pacific and Yukon Region of Canada. They came to learn, meet and talk with experts from other disciplines, and share their knowledge and experiences regarding atmospheric rivers.

Atmospheric rivers, such as the Pineapple Express, are corridors of moist, tropical air that periodically flow across the midlatitudes. Atmospheric river events can bring intense precipitation to our coast and can have inland effects.

In addition to organizing the event, PCIC contributed to the second panel discussion and the brainstorming session, and gave two presentations. PCIC Climatologist Faron Anslow delivered a talk titled, "Climatology of Extreme Precipitation Events in British Columbia Using a New Comprehensive Climate Dataset" and PCIC Director Francis Zwiers delivered a talk titled, "Future trends in extreme precipitation events in the Pacific and Yukon Region." Altogether, the workshop had three sessions: "Atmospheric River Impacts," "British Columbia Historic and Future Trends" and "Extreme Precipitation Events: Existing Forecasting Ability and Tools." Talks were given by speakers from the Climate Action Secretariat, Emergency Management British Columbia, the US National Weather Service, Environment Canada, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The proceedings from the workshop will be compiled in a forthcoming "state of the knowledge" report.