Brief communication: Meteorological and climatological conditions associated with the 9 January 2018 post-fire debris flows in Montecito and Carpinteria, California, USA

The Thomas Fire burned 114 078 ha in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, southern California, during December 2017–January 2018. On 9 January 2018, high-intensity rainfall occurred over the Thomas Fire burn area in the mountains above the communities of Montecito and Carpinteria, initiating multiple...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNatural hazards and earth system sciences Vol. 18; no. 11; pp. 3037 - 3043
Main Authors Oakley, Nina S., Cannon, Forest, Munroe, Robert, Lancaster, Jeremy T., Gomberg, David, Ralph, F. Martin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 19.11.2018
Copernicus Publications
Subjects
Analysis
Climatology
Coasts
Cold
Cold front
Communication
Debris flow
Environmental aspects
Fires
Meteorological research
Mountains
Precipitation
Rain
Rainfall
Rainfall intensity
Storm damage
Watersheds
Wildfires
California
United States > US
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Summary:The Thomas Fire burned 114 078 ha in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, southern California, during December 2017–January 2018. On 9 January 2018, high-intensity rainfall occurred over the Thomas Fire burn area in the mountains above the communities of Montecito and Carpinteria, initiating multiple devastating debris flows. The highest rainfall intensities occurred with the passage of a narrow rainband along a cold front oriented north to south. Orographic enhancement associated with moist southerly flow immediately ahead of the cold front also played a role. We provide an explanation of the meteorological characteristics of the event and place it in historic context.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:1684-9981
1561-8633
1684-9981
DOI:10.5194/nhess-18-3037-2018