NLDAS Views of North American 2011 Extreme Events

2011 was marked as one of the most extreme years in recent history. Over the course of the year, weather-related extreme events, such as floods, heat waves, blizzards, tornadoes, and wildfires, caused tremendous loss of human life and property. The North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS, http://ldas.gsfc.nasa.gov/nldas/) data set, with high spatial and temporal resolutions (0.125° x 0.125°, hourly) and various waterand energy-related variables, is an excellent data source for case studies of extreme events.