If you enjoyed the massive amounts of rain most of the High Plains received last year, you may not want to get too used to it. The weather patterns that brought moisture to the southwestern United States in 2015 were unusual. And these wet patterns have become more rare over the last 35 years, reports Colorado Public Radio.
The scarceness of these climatic occurrences was revealed in a new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. The study found subtle shifts in weather patterns over the Southwest. The patterns that tend to bring the most wet weather to the area are low pressure systems. And those same systems have formed less often over the years.
Andreas Prein, a postdoctoral researcher who led the study, explained: “Droughts in the southwest nowadays can occur easier, can last longer, and they are more intense than they were 30 years ago.” Climate change could provide one explanation for the change.