PRECIPITATION AMOUNT AND INTENSITY TRENDS ACROSS SOUTHWEST SAUDI ARABIA

C Furl, HO Sharif, Mohammad Abdullah M Al-Zahrani, A El Hassan, N Mazari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines precipitation accumulation and intensity trends across a region in southwest Saudi Arabia characterized by distinct seasonal weather patterns and mountainous terrain. The region is an example of an arid/semiarid area faced with maintaining sustainable water resources with a growing population. Annual and seasonal trends in precipitation amount were examined from 29 rain gages divided among four geographically unique regions from 1945/1946 to 2009. Two of the regions displayed significantly declining annual trends over the time series using a Mann-Kendall test modified for autocorrelation (alpha < 0.05). Seasonal analysis revealed insignificant declining trends in at least two of the regions during each season. The largest and most consistent declining trends occurred during wintertime where all regions experienced negative trends. Several intensity metrics were examined in the study area from four additional stations containing daily data from 1985 to 2011. Inten
Original languageEnglish
JournalJAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
StatePublished - 2014

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