Megapluvials in Southwestern North America: A Millennium of Extreme Wet Periods

A new study reveals that extreme wet periods, known as megapluvials, have been as common as droughts in Southwestern North America over the last millennium. Two major 20th-century megapluvials were among the wettest in 1,200 years, driven primarily by tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures.

• Megapluvials are extreme, prolonged wet periods, akin to megadroughts.
• Southwestern North America experienced two major megapluvials in the 20th century.
• The 1978-1999 megapluvial was the wettest in the last 1,200 years.
• Tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures are a key driver of these events.
• This research highlights the natural variability of hydroclimate over centuries.

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