Unveiling the Role of Atmospheric Resonance in Extreme Weather Events

Recent decades have witnessed unprecedented weather extremes with severe repercussions for human society. However, a satisfactory explanation of the extremity of some of these events has remained elusive. We demonstrated a novel combination of factors that contributed to the singularly anomalous Pacific Northwest Heat Dome event of summer 2021, involving the phenomenon of resonant planetary wave amplification—not well represented in state-of-the-art climate models—which interacted with land surface feedbacks to set the stage for this extreme heat event. Furthermore, a series of resonant planetary wave configurations identified in summer 2023 provides additional evidence for the role of atmospheric resonance in concurrent extreme weather events, such as heat waves, floods, and wildfires. Our findings hold the potential for more skillful predictions of low-probability yet impactful weather extremes that can have devastating consequences.