Allison Michaelis

Research Emphases

Synoptic meteorology, high-impact weather, climate change

Specific Research Endeavors

My primary research interests involve high-impact weather in the context of climate change and short-term predictability. I utilize high-resolution models to simulate phenomena such as tropical cyclones, extratropical transition events, snow storms, and atmospheric rivers to examine how these systems and their impacts may change 50–100 years from now. I am also interested in short-term predictability challenges such as the formation of mesoscale frontal waves along atmospheric rivers.

Frequently Taught Courses

GEOG 105: Weather, Climate, and You

Representative Publications

Cobb, A., A. Michaelis, S. Iacobellis, F. M. Ralph, and L. Delle Monache, 2020: Atmospheric
River Sectors: Definition and Characteristics Observed Using Dropsondes from 2014–2020 CalWater and AR Recon. Monthly Wea. Rev., doi:10.1175/MWR-D-20-0177.1.

Cannon, F., and Coauthors, 2020: Observations and Predictability of a High-Impact Narrow
Cold-Frontal Rainband over Southern California on 2 February 2019. Wea. Forecasting, 35, 2083–2097, doi:10.1175/WAF-D-20-0012.1.

O’Brien, T. A., and Coauthors, 2020: Detection Uncertainty Matters for Understanding
Atmospheric Rivers. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 101, E790–E796, doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0348.1.

Cannon, F., J. M. Cordeira, C. W. Hecht, J. R. Norris, A. C. Michaelis, R. Demirdjian, and F. M.
Ralph, 2020: GPM Satellite Radar Observations of Precipitation Mechanisms in Atmospheric Rivers. Monthly Wea. Rev., 148, 1449–1463, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-19-0278.1.

Demirdjian, R., J. D. Doyle, C. A. Reynolds, J. R. Norris, A. C. Michaelis, and F. M. Ralph,
2020: A Case Study of the Physical Processes Associated with the Atmospheric River Initial Condition Sensitivity from an Adjoint Model. J. Atmos. Sciences, 77, 691–709, doi:10.1175/JAS-D-19-0155.1.

Michaelis, A. C., and G. M. Lackmann, 2019: Climatological Changes in the Extratropical
Transition of Tropical Cyclones in High-Resolution Global Simulations. J. Climate, 32, 8733–8753, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0259.1.

Michaelis, A. C., G. M. Lackmann, and W. A. Robinson, 2019: Evaluation of a unique approach
to high-resolution climate modeling using the Model for Prediction Across Scales – Atmosphere (MPAS-A) version 5.1. Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3725–3743, doi:10.5194/gmd-12-3725-2019.

Michaelis, A. C., J. Willison, G. M. Lackmann, and W. A. Robinson, 2017: Changes in Winter
North Atlantic Extratropical Cyclones in High-Resolution Regional Pseudo-Global Warming Simulations. J. Climate, 30, 6905–6925, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0697.1.

Michaelis, A. C., and G. M. Lackmann, 2013: Numerical modeling of a historic storm:
Simulating the Blizzard of 1888. Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 4092-4097, doi:10.1002/grl.50750