Cold-season subtropical air mass intrusions into the Saint-Lawrence River Valley: dynamic-thermodynamic impacts on extreme precipitation and regional climate change

The heavily populated region of Québec’s Saint Lawrence River Valley (SLRV) experiences
among the largest number of hours of freezing rain on the North American continent. Some of
the region’s most impactful freezing rain events, including the Great Ice Storm of 1998 and
the recent April 2023 ice storm, were characterized by very warm, moist subtropical air above
the valley’s entrenched cold air. The Intern’s research is designed to identify an associated
subtropical temperature- and moisture-based metric that signals an increased likelihood of
extreme winter precipitation, particularly freezing rain, in the SLRV region of Canada. This
research promises to provide improved guidance to the Québec stakeholders on the
likelihood of extreme winter precipitation in an environment of ever-increasing global
warming. The results of this research are expected to benefit the partner organization,
Ouranos, in providing regional climate-change projections to the citizens of Québec.

Faculty Supervisor:

John Gyakum

Student:

Partner:

Ouranos Inc

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Accommodation and food services; Agriculture; Professional, scientific and technical services; Public administration

University:

McGill University

Program: