LAUSR

AbstractAtmospheric reanalyses have been used in many studies to investigate the variabilities and trends of precipitation because of their global coverage and long record; however, their results must be properly analyzed and their uncertainties must be understood. In this study, precipitation estimates from five global reanalyses [ERA-Interim; MERRA, version 2 (MERRA2); JRA-55; CFSR; and 20CR, version 2c (20CRv2c)] and one regional reanalysis (NARR) are compared against the CPC Unified Gauge-Based Analysis (CPCUGA) and GPCP over the contiguous United States (CONUS) during the period 1980–2013. Reanalyses capture the variability of the precipitation distribution over the CONUS as observed in CPCUGA and GPCP, but large regional and seasonal differences exist. Compared with CPCUGA, global reanalyses generally overestimate the precipitation over the western part of the country throughout the year and over the northeastern CONUS during the fall and winter seasons. These issues may be associated with the diffi...