Dale R. Durran Professor and Chair of Atmospheric Sciences Adjunct Professor of Applied Mathematics Atmospheric Sciences Box 351640 University of Washington Seattle, WA  98195-1640 telephone : (206) 543-7440 facsimile:  (206) 543-0308 drdee <at> uw [dot] edu
Research Interests Mesoscale Dynamic Meteorology Numerical Methods Atmospheric Predictability Mountain Meteorology Atmospheric Waves
		Iceland: International Conference on Alpine Meteorology, 2017

Curriculum Vitae

My Sculpture

Textbooks and Similar Materials

• Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics: with Applications in Geophysics (2nd Ed)
  
• Numerical Methods for Wave Equations in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (1st Ed)
• Animated Course Notes: Rising Air and Thunderstorms (ATMS 103)
• Flash Course Note Snippet: Developing Rotation in Mesocyclones (ATMS 103)
• Animated Course Notes: Introduction to Weather for Non-Science Majors (ATM S 101)
• Flow visualization software: The Interactive Visualization Environment (IVE)
• Errata for Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology, 4th Edition, by James Holton.

My Article on the Electoral College

Visuals

• Fluid Dynamics Animations
  • Comparison of streamlines and trajectories
  • Vertically propagating internal gravity waves generated by a isolated source
  • Gravity waves generated by a similated 2D squall line propagating into the stratosphere
    
    
• YouTube Videos (available in HD)
  • Rocky Mountain Wave Clouds: time lapse movie photographed from Boulder, CO
  • Trapped lee waves over the western US
    
    
• Laboratory Demonstration
  • Comparing the rates of heat transport by convection and conduction
  • Watch the YouTube video in HD
    
    
• Thunderstorm development along the dryline (May 2008, note edge of low clouds in western Texas and Kansas)
  • Satellite loop only
  • Satellite with surface data

Coriolis Force Articles

• Is the Coriolis Force Really Responsible for the Inertial Oscillation (1993: BAMS, 74, 2179-2184) © Copyright 1993 AMS. This pdf incorporates the errata published in BAMS, p. 261 (probably in 1994).
• An Apparatus for Demonstrating the Inertial Oscillation (1996: BAMS, 77, 557-559) © Copyright 1996 AMS.

Publications in the New Millenium

• Weyn, J.A., D. R. Durran, and R. Caruana, 2019: Can machines learn to predict weather? Using deep learning to predict gridded 500-hPa geopotential height from historical weather data. JAMES, in press.

• Kelley, J.D., D.M. Schultz, R.S. Schumacher, and D. R. Durran, and P. N. Blossey, 2019: Can mountain waves produce damaging winds far away from the lee slope? Wea. Forecasting, submitted.

• Metz, J. J., D. R. Durran, and P. N. Blossey, 2019: Trapped mountain lee waves with significant stratospheric amplitude. J. Atmos. Sci., submitted.

• Menchaca, M. Q. and D. R. Durran, 2019: The influence of gravity waves on the slope of the kinetic-energy spectrum in simulations of idealized mid-latitude cyclones. J. Atmos. Sci.,76, 2103-2122. © Copyright 2019 AMS

• Durran, D. R. and M. Q. Menchaca, 2019: The influence of vertical wind shear on the evolution of mountain-wave momentum flux. J. Atmos. Sci., 75, 749-756. © Copyright 2019 AMS

• Weyn, J.A.. and D.R. Durran, 2018: Ensemble spread grows more rapidly in higher-resolution simulations of deep convection. J. Atmos. Sci., 75, 3331-3345. © Copyright 2018 AMS

• Weyn, J.A.. and D.R. Durran, 2018: The scale dependence of initial-condition sensitivities in simulations of convective systems over the Southeastern US. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc.,in press.

• Menchaca, M. Q. and D. R. Durran, 2018: The impact of mountain waves on an idealized baroclinically unstable large-scale flow. J. Atmos. Sci., 75, 3285-3302. © Copyright 2018 AMS

• Durran, D.R., J.A. Weyn and M.Q. Menchaca, 2017: Practical considerations for computing dimensional spectra from gridded data. Mon. Wea. Rev., 145, 3901-3910. © Copyright 2017 AMS

• Weyn, J.A.. and D.R. Durran, 2017: The dependence of the predictability of mesoscale convective systems on the horizontal scale and amplitude of initial errors in idealized simulations. J. Atmos. Sci., 74, 2191-2210. © Copyright 2017 AMS .

• Menchaca, M.Q. and D.R. Durran, 2017: Mountain Waves, Downslope Winds, and Low-Level Blocking Forced by a Midlatitude Cyclone Encountering an Isolated Ridge. J. Atmos. Sci., 74, 617-639. © Copyright 2017 AMS .

• Light, D.K. and D.R. Durran, 2016: Preserving Non-Negativity in Discontinuous Galerkin Approximations to Scalar Transport via Truncation and Mass Aware Rescaling (TMAR). Mon. Wea., 144, 4771-4786. © Copyright 2016 AMS

• Siler, N. and D. Durran, 2016: What causes weak orographic rain shadows? Insights from case studies in the Cascades and idealized simulations. J. Atmos. Sci., 73, 4077-4099. © Copyright 2016 AMS

• Shi, X. and D.R. Durran, 2016: Sensitivities of extreme precipitation to global warming are smaller over mountains than over oceans and plains. J. Climate, 29, 4779-4791. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0576.1 © Copyright 2016 AMS

• Russotto, R.D., T.P. Ackerman, and D.R. Durran, 2016: Sensitivity of Thin Cirrus Clouds in the Tropical Layer to Ice Crystal Shape and Radiative Absorption. J. Geophs. Res., 121, doi:10.1002/2015JD024413 .

• Hills, M.O.G., D.R. Durran and P.N. Blossey, 2016: The dissipation of trapped lee waves. Part II: The relative importance of the boundary layer and the stratosphere. J. Atmos. Sci, 73, 943-955. © Copyright 2016 AMS

• Durran, D.R. and J.A. Weyn, 2016: Thunderstorms don't get butterflies. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 97, 237-243. Supplemental material. © Copyright 2016 AMS
  

• Shi, X. and D.R. Durran, 2015: Estimating the Response of Extreme Precipitation over Mid-latitude Mountains to Global Warming. J. Climate, 28, 4246-4262. © Copyright 2015 AMS

• Durran, D.R., M.O.G. Hills, and P.N. Blossey, 2015: The dissipation of trapped lee waves. Part I: Leakage of inviscid waves into the stratosphere. J. Atmos. Sci., 72, 1569-1584. © Copyright 2015 AMS

• Siler, N. and D. Durran, 2015: Assessing the impact of the tropopause on mountain waves and orographic precipitation using linear theory and numerical simulations. J. Atmos. Sci., 72, 803-820. © Copyright 2015 AMS

• Dinh, T., S. Fueglistaer, D. Durran and T. Ackerman, 2014: Cirrus and water vapour transport in the tropical tropopause layer –- Part 2: Roles of ice nucleation and sedimentation, cloud dynamics, and moisture conditions. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12225-12236.
  

• Durran, D.R. and M.A. Gingrich, 2014: Atmospheric Predictability: Why Butterflies Are Not of Practical Importance. J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 2476-2488. © Copyright 2014 AMS Errata: please see this Corrigendum

• Shi, X. and D.R. Durran, 2014: The Response of Orographic Precipitation over Idealized Mid-Latitude Mountains Due to Global Increases in CO2. J. Climate, 27, 3938-3956. © Copyright 2014 AMS .

• Hills, M.O.G., and D.R. Durran, 2014: Quantifying moisture perturbations leading to stacked lenticular clouds. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 140, 2013-2016, DOI:10.1002/qj.2272 © Copyright 2013 Royal Meteorological Society .

• Durran, D.R. and D.M.W. Frierson, 2013: Condensation, atmospheric motion , and cold beer. Phys. Today, 66, 74-75. © Copyright 2013 Physics Today. (Supplementary material is here, and here is a related YouTube video)

• Durran, D.R., P.A. Reinecke and J.D. Doyle, 2013: Large-Scale Errors and Mesoscale Predictability in Pacific Northwest Snowstorms. J. Atmos. Sci., 70, 1470-1487. © Copyright 2013 AMS

• Siler N., G. Roe and D. Durran, 2013: On the dynamical causes of variability in the rain-shadow effect: a case study of the Washington Cascades. J. Hydrometeor., 14, 122-139. © Copyright 2013 AMS

• Dinh, P.-T, D.R. Durran and T. Ackerman, 2012: Cirrus and water vapor transport in the tropical tropopause layer: a modeling study Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 9799–9815.

• Hills, M.O.G., and D.R. Durran, 2012: Nonstationary trapped lee waves generated by the passage of an isolated-jet. J. Atmos. Sci., 69, 3040-3059. © Copyright 2012 AMS

• Durran, D.R., and P.N. Blossey, 2012: Implicit-Explicit Multistep Methods for Fast-Wave Slow-Wave Problems. Mon. Wea. Rev., 140, 1307-1325. Errata: please see this Corrigendum © Copyright 2012 AMS. Correction to eqn (16) and further derivations by Prof. Keiichi Ishioka.

• Dinh, T., and D.R. Durran, 2012: A hybrid bin scheme to solve the condensation/evaporation equation using a cubic distribution function. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 1003–1011.

• Minder, J.R., D.R. Durran, G.H. Roe, 2011: Mesoscale Controls on the Mountainside Snow-line. J. Atmos. Sci., 68, 2107-2127. © Copyright 2011 AMS.

• Harris, L.M. and D.R. Durran, 2010: An idealized comparison of one-way and two-way grid nesting. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 2174-2187. © Copyright 2010 AMS.

• Dinh, P.-T, D.R. Durran and T. Ackerman, 2010: The maintenance of tropical tropopause layer cirrus. J. Geophys. Res., 115, D02104, doi:10.1029/2009JD012735.

• Reinecke, P.A., and D. R. Durran, 2009: Initial condition sensitivities and the predictability of downslope winds.J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 3401-3418. © Copyright 2009 AMS.

• Durran, D.R., P.-T. Dinh, M. Ammerman, and T. Ackerman, 2009: The mesoscale dynamics of thin tropical tropopause cirrus. J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 2859-2873. © Copyright 2009 AMS.

• Durran, D.R., 2009: Comment on: Gravity wave refraction by three-dimensionally varying winds and the global transport of angular momentum, J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 2150-2152. © Copyright 2009 AMS.

• Reinecke, P.A., and D. R. Durran, 2009: The over-amplification of gravity waves in numerical solutions to flow over topography. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 1533-1549. © Copyright 2009 AMS.

• Maric, T. and D.R. Durran, 2009: Observations of gap flow in the Wipp Valley on 20 October 1999: Evidence of subsidence J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 984-1001. © Copyright 2009 AMS.

• Minder, J.R., D.R. Durran, G.H. Roe and A.M. Anders, 2008: The climatology of small-scale precipitation over the Olympic mountains: Patterns and processes. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 134, 817-839. © Copyright 2008 Royal Meteorological Society e

• Blossey, P.N. and D.R. Durran, 2008: Selective monotonicity preservation in scalar advection. J. Computational Physics, 227, 5160-5183.

• Durran, D.R., 2008: A physically motivated approach for filtering acoustic waves from the equations governing compressible stratified flow. J. Fluid Mech., 601, 365-379. © Copyright 2008 Cambridge University Press.

• Reinecke, P.A., and D. R. Durran, 2008: Estimating topographic blocking using a Froude number when the static stability is non-uniform. J. Atmos. Sci., 65, 1035-1048. © Copyright 2008 AMS.

• Polagye, B., P. Malte, M. Kawase and D. Durran, 2008: Effect of large-scale kinetic power extraction on time-dependent estuaries. Proc. IMechE, 222, Part A: J. Power and Energy, 471-484. DOI:10.1243/09576509JPE519

• Durran, D.R., and A. Arakawa, 2007: Generalizing the Boussinesq Approximation to Stratified Compressible Flow. Comptes Rendus Mecanique, 355, 655-664 (DOI: 10.1016/j.crme.2007.08.010)

• Doyle , J.D., and D.R. Durran, 2007: Rotor and Sub-Rotor Dynamics in the Lee of Three-Dimensional Terrain. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 4202-4221. © Copyright 2007 AMS.

• Chen, C.-C., G.J. Hakim, and D.R. Durran 2007: Transient Mountain Waves and Their Interaction with Large Scales. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 2378-2400.© Copyright 2007 AMS.

• Anders, A.M., G.H. Roe, D.R. Durran and J.R. Minder, 2007: Small-scale spatial gradients in climatological precipitation on the Olympic Pennisula. J. Hydrometeor., 8, 1068-1081. © Copyright 2007 AMS.
  
  
• Mayr, G.J., L. Armi, A. Gohm, G. Zangl, D.R. Durran, C. Flamant, S. Gabersek, S. Mobbs, A. Ross and M. Weissmann, 2007: Gap flows: results from the Mesoscale Alpine Programme MAP. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc., 133, 881-896. © Copyright 2007 Royal Meteorological Society

• Kirshbaum, D.J., G.H. Bryan, R. Rotunno, and D.R. Durran, 2007: The triggering of orographic rainbands by small-scale topography. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1530-1549.© Copyright 2007 AMS.

• Stiperski, I., I. Kavcic, B. Grisogono, and D.R. Durran, 2007: Including Coriolis effects in the Prandtl model for katabatic flow. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc., 133, 101-106. © Copyright 2007 Royal Meteorological Society

• Gabersek, S.A. and D.R. Durran, 2006: The dynamics of gap flow over idealized topography: Part II. Effects of rotation and surface friction. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 2720-2739. © Copyright 2006 AMS.

• Chen, C.-C., D.R. Durran and G.J. Hakim, 2005: Mountain-wave momentum flux in an evolving synoptic-scale flow. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 3213-3231. © Copyright 2005 AMS.

• Kirshbaum, D. J.,  and D. R. Durran, 2005: Atmospheric factors governing banded orographic convection. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 3758-3774. © Copyright 2005 AMS.

• Kirshbaum, D. J.,  and D. R. Durran, 2005: Observations and modeling of banded orographic convection. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 1463-1479. © Copyright 2005 AMS.

• Mullendore, G.L., D.R. Durran and J. R. Holton, 2005: Cross-tropopause tracer transport in midlatitude convection. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D06113, doi:10.1029/2004JD005059. © 2005 Copyright American Geophysical Union.

• Durran. D.R. and C. Bretherton, 2004: Comments on "The roles of the horizontal component of the Earth's angular velocity in nonhydrostatic linear models. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 1982-1986 © Copyright 2004 AMS.

• Anders, A.M., G.H Roe and D.R. Durran, 2004: Precipitation and the form of mountain ranges. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 85, 498-499 © Copyright 2004 AMS.

• Gabersek, S.A. and D.R. Durran, 2004: The dynamics of gap flow over idealized topography: Part I. Forcing by large-scale winds in the nonrotating limit. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 2846-2862. © Copyright 2004 AMS.

• Doyle, J.D., and D.R. Durran, 2004: Recent Developments in the Theory of Atmospheric Rotors. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 85, 11-16. © Copyright 2004 AMS.

• D.R. Durran and P.A. Reinecke, 2004: Instability in a class of explicit two-time level semi-Lagrangian schemes. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc., 130, 365-369. © Copyright 2004 Royal Meteorological Society

• Kirshbaum, D. J.,  and D. R. Durran, 2004: Factors Governing Cellular Convection in Orographic Precipitation. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 682-698. © Copyright 2004 AMS.

• Durran, D.R., T. Maric, R.M. Banta, L.S. Darby,  and R.M. Hardesty, 2003: A comparison of ground-based Doppler lidar and airborne in situ wind observations above complex terrain. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc., 129, 693-713. © Copyright 2004 Royal Meteorological Society

• Doyle, J.D., and D.R. Durran, 2002: The Dynamics of Mountain-Wave Induced Rotors.  J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 186-201. © Copyright 2002 AMS.

• Epifanio, C.C., and D.R. Durran, 2002: Lee vortex formation in free-slip stratified flow over ridges. Part I: Comparison of weakly nonlinear inviscid theory and fully nonlinear viscous simulations. J. Atmos. Sci.,  59, 1153-1165. © Copyright 2002 AMS.

• Epifanio, C.C., and D.R. Durran, 2002: Lee vortex formation in free-slip stratified flow over ridges. Part II: Mechanisms of vorticity and PV production in nonlinear viscous wakes.  J. Atmos. Sci., 59, 1166-1181. © Copyright 2002 AMS.

• Durran, D.R., 2001: Open Boundary Conditions: Fact and Fiction. IUTAM Symposium on Advances in Mathematical Modelling of Atmosphere and Ocean Dynamics, P.F. Hodnett, Ed., Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 1-18. (postscript version)

• Piani, C., and D. Durran, 2001: A numerical study of stratospheric gravity waves triggered by squall lines observed during the TOGA-COARE and COPT-81 experiments. J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 3702-3721. © Copyright 2001 AMS.

• Epifanio, C.C., and D.R. Durran, 2001: Three-dimensional effects in high-drag-state flows over long ridges.  J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 1051-1065. © Copyright 2001 AMS.

• Durran, D.R., 2000: Small-amplitude coastally trapped disturbances and the reduced-gravity shallow-water approximation. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 126, 2671-2689. © Copyright 2004 Royal Meteorological Society

• Piani, C., D. Durran, M.J. Alexander and J.R. Holton, 2000: A numerical study of three dimensional gravity waves triggered by deep tropical convection. J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 3689-3702. © Copyright 2000 AMS.

• Durran, D.R., 2000: Wave propagation in quadratic-finite-element approximations to hyperbolic equations J. Comp. Phys., 159, 448-455

• Pandya, R.E., D.R. Durran and M.L. Weisman, 2000: The influence of convective thermal forcing on the mesoscale circulation around three-dimensional squall lines. J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 29-45, © Copyright 2000 AMS.

Selected Older Papers

• Durran D.R., 1988: On a physical mechanism for Rossby wave propagation. J. Atmos. Sci., 45, 4020-4022, © Copyright 1989 AMS. Errata: Figure 2 is corrected on this pdf.

• Durran D.R., and J.B. Klemp 1982: On the effects of moisture on the Brunt-Vaisala frequency. J. Atmos. Sci., 39, 2152-2158, © Copyright 1982 AMS. Errata: Correction to Equation (21)

Selected Review Papers

• Durran, D.R., 1990: Mountain Waves and Downslope Winds. In Atmospheric Processes over Complex Terrain. Meteorological Monographs, Vol 23, No. 45. © Copyright 1990 AMS.

Selected Conference Presentations

• Orographic Precipitation and the form of mountain ranges.  18th Conference on Hydrology. American Meteorological Society: Seattle, WA; 11-15 January 2004 (Durran's participation in this research supported by NSF grant ATM-0137335)

• 13th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction. American Meteorological Society: Denver, Colorado; 13-17 September 1999 (research supported by NSF grant ATM-9530662)

Former Ph.D Students (listed chronologically with current affiliation)

• Louisa Nance: NCAR, Boulder, CO
• Rajul Pandya: AGU (Founding Director: Thriving Earth Exchange)
• Craig Epifanio: Texas A&M, College Station, TX
• Claudio Piani: American University, Paris, France
• Gretchen Mullendore: University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
• Sasa Gabersek: Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA
• Daniel Kirshbaum: McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• Chih-Chieh Chen: NCAR, Boulder, CO
• Tomislav Maric: Vestas, Denmark
• P. Alex Reinecke: Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, CA
• Lucas Harris: GFDL, Princeton, NJ
• Justin Minder: University at Albany, Albany, NY
• Tra Dinh: University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
• Matt Hills: Weathernews, Netherlands
• Nick Siler, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
• Xiaoming Shi: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
• Maximo Menchaca, Vaisala, Seattle, WA