Cloud Radiative Effects Associated With Daily Weather Regimes Geophysical Research Letters

Using high temporal resolution satellite observations and reanalysis data, we classify daily weather into distinct regimes and quantify their associated cloud radiative effect (CRE) to better understand the roles of various weather systems in affecting Earth's top‐of‐atmosphere radiation budget. These regimes include non‐precipitation, drizzle, wet non‐storm, and storm days, which encompass atmospheric rivers (AR), tropical storms (TS), and mesoscale convection systems (MCS). We find that precipitation (wet) days account for roughly 80% (60%) of global longwave (LW) and shortwave (SW) CREs due to their large frequency and high intensity in CRE. Despite being rare globally (13%), AR, TS, and MCS days together account for 32% of global LW CRE and 27% of SW CRE due to their higher intensity in LW and SW CRE. These results enhance our understanding of how various weather systems, particularly severe storms, influence Earth's radiative balance, and will help to better constrain climate models.