32 Climate Change and Extreme Heat in the Rocky Mountain Southwest: Impacts, Adaptation, and Geoscience Perspectives
This session explores climate change and extreme heat in the Rocky Mountain Southwest, emphasizing geoscience research, education, and community-based adaptation strategies. We welcome scientists, policy experts, educators, and planners addressing regional climate resilience.
Tuesday, 19 May 2026
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Alvarado F
Thermal Interactions Between Urban Heat Islands and Atmospheric Layers and Induced Precipitation Events
Paper number: 32-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:35 PM – 2:55 PM
Authors
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N. SmithCentral New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, NM
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L.E. SilbertCentral New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, NM
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M.W. ColeCentral New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, NM
Abstract
Urban environments dominated by materials such as asphalt and concrete absorb and reradiate substantial amounts of solar energy, creating localized warming known as the Urban Heat Island (UHIE). While most studies focus primarily on large-scale regional study areas, this study focuses on localized effects within the urban environment, primarily on UHI-induced precipitation events. To investigate the UHIE at the local scale, a two-mile, closed-loop transect in one of Albuquerque’s hottest urban zones was surveyed three times per day, twice weekly, over an eight-week period. Four mobile sensors collected air temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, and surface temperature along the transect, while a rural weather station in Tijeras, New Mexico provided the rural baseline environmental measurements. Urban-rural temperature differentials confirmed a pronounced UHIE at the study site, and strong correlations were observed between surface and air temperatures (60.9% and 66.4%). Thermal spikes in the differential temperature signal (ΔT) preceding rainfall events were consistent with patterns indicative of UHIE-induced precipitation. These findings demonstrate that localized UHIE dynamics can be effectively resolved at the neighborhood scale and may play a measurable role in triggering small-scale convective precipitation within arid urban environments.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 4
doi: 10.1130/abs/2026RM-410579
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