Oakley, N.S., Cheung, D., Lindsay, D., Nash, D. (2025). Insights from a 25-year database of postfire debris flows in California. International Journal of Wildland Fire (in press).
Thomas, M. A., Lindsay, D. N., Kean, J. and coauthors including Oakley, N. (2025). Landsliding follows signatures of wildfire history and vegetation regrowth in a steep coastal shrubland. Geosphere, 21(5), 823-840. https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02856.1
Youberg, A., McGuire, L., Oakley, N., Rengers, F., Shafer, A. (2025). Confronting debris flow hazards after wildfire. Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250069
Oakley, N.S., Perkins, J.P., Bartlett, S.M., Collins, B.D., Comstock, K.H., Brien, D.L., Burgess, W.P., Corbett, S.C. (2025). Investigating the atmospheric conditions associated with impactful shallow landslides in California. Earth Interactions, 28, e240003, https://doi.org/10.1175/EI-D-24-0003.1.
Perkins, J. P., Oakley, N. S., Collins, B. D., Corbett, S. C., Burgess, W. P. (2025). Characterizing the scale of regional landslide triggering from storm hydrometeorology. Natural Hazards Earth Systems Science, 25(3), 1037-1056. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-1037-2025
Thomas, M.A., Michaelis, A.C., Oakley N.S., Kean, J.W., Gensini, V.A., and Ashley, W.S. (2024). Rainfall intensification amplifies exposure of American Southwest to conditions that trigger postfire debris flows. Nature npj Natural Hazards, 1(14), https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00017-8.
Prescott, A. B., McGuire, L. A., Jun, K.S., Barnhart, K. R., and Oakley, N. S. (2024). Probabilistic assessment
of postfire debris-flow inundation in response to forecast rainfall, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2359–2374, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2359-2024.
Oakley, N.S., Liu, T., McGuire, L., Simpson, M., Hatchett, B., Tardy, A., Kean, J., Castellano, C., Laber, J., Steinhoff, D. (2023). Toward probabilistic post-fire debris-flow hazard decision support. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 104, E1587-E1605. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0188.1.
de Orla-Barile, M., Cannon, F., Oakley, N. S., & Ralph, F. M. (2022). A climatology of narrow cold-frontal rainbands in Southern California. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2021GL095362. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095362
Liu, T., McGuire, L. A., Oakley, N., and Cannon, F. (2022). Temporal changes in rainfall intensity–duration thresholds for post-wildfire flash floods in southern California, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 361–376. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-361-2022
Oakley, N.S. (2021): A warming climate adds complexity to post-fire hydrologic hazard planning. Earth’s Future, 9(7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002149
Schwartz, J., Oakley, N.S., Alessio, P. (2021): Assessment of a post-fire debris flow impacting the El Capitan
watershed, Santa Barbara County, California, USA. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience. 27 (4): 423–437. https://doi.org/10.2113/EEG-D-21-00008
McGuire, L.A., Rengers, F.K., Oakley, N.S., Kean J.W., Staley, D.M., Tang, H., de Orla-Barile, M., Youberg, A.M. (2021): Time Since Burning and Rainfall Characteristics Impact Post- Fire Debris-Flow Initiation and Magnitude. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, 27 (1): 43–56. https://doi.org/10.2113/EEG-D-20-00029
Rengers, F. K., McGuire, L. A., Oakley, N. S., Kean, J. W., Staley, D. M., Tang, H. (2020). Landslides after wildfire: initiation, magnitude, and mobility. Landslides, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01506-3
Hatchett, B. J., Cao, Q., Dawson, P. B., Ellis, C. J., and coauthors including Oakley, N.S. (2020). Observations of an extreme atmospheric river storm with a diverse sensor network. Earth and Space Science, 7(8).
Lukashov, S. Swanson, B., Oakley, N. S., Lancaster, J. (2019): The Southern California Post-Fire Debris Flows of 9 January 2018: A Review of Initiation Areas, Precipitation and Impacts. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, Special Publication 28, http://dx.doi.org/10.25676/11124/173051.
Lamjiri, M. A., Dettinger, M. D., Ralph, F. M., Oakley, N. S., Rutz, J. J. (2018): Hourly Analyses of the Large Storms and Atmospheric Rivers that Provide Most of California’s Precipitation in Only 10-100 Hours per Year. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, 16(4), https://doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2018v16iss4art1.
Lancaster, J.T., Swanson, B. J., Lukashov, S.G., Oakley, N.S., and coauthors (2021): Observations and Analyses of the 9 January 2018 Debris-Flow Disaster, Santa Barbara County, California. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, 27 (1): 3–27. https://doi.org/10.2113/EEG-D-20-00015.
Collins, B. D., Oakley, N. S., Perkins, J. P., East, A. E., Corbett, S. C., & Hatchett, B. J. (2020): Linking Mesoscale Meteorology With Extreme Landscape Response: Effects of an NCFR. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 125, e2020JF005675. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005675
Cannon, F., Oakley, N. S., Hecht, C., Michaelis, A., Cordeira, J., Kawzenuk, B., Demirdjian, R., Weihs, R., Fish, M., Wilson, A., Ralph, F. M. (2020): Observations and Predictability of a High-Impact Narrow Cold-Frontal Rainband over Southern California on 2 February 2019. Weather and Forecasting 1-40. https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-20-0012.1
Oakley, N. S., Cannon, F., Munroe, R., Lancaster, J. T., Gomberg, D., and Ralph, F.M. (2018): Brief Communication: Meteorological and climatological conditions associated with the 9 January 2018 post-fire debris flows in Montecito and Carpinteria California, USA, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci, 18, 3037-3043, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-3037-2018.
Oakley, N. S., Lancaster, J. T., Hatchett, B.J., Stock, J., Ralph, F. M., Roj, S., Lukashov, S. (2018): A 22-year climatology of cool season hourly precipitation conducive to shallow landslides in California. Earth Interact., 22, 1–35, https://doi.org/10.1175/EI-D-17-0029.1
Hatchett, B. J., Daudert, B., Garner, C.B., Oakley, N.S., Putnam, A. E., White, A. B. (2017): Winter snow level rise in the northern Sierra Nevada from 2008-2017. Water, 9, 11, https://doi.org/10.3390/w9110899
Ralph, F. M., Dettinger, M., Lavers, D., Gorodetskaya, I., Martin, A., Viale, M., White, A., Oakley, N. S., Rutz, J., Spackman, R., Wernli, H., Cordeira, J. (2017): Atmospheric Rivers Emerge as a Global Science and Applications Focus. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 98, 1969-1973, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0262.1
Oakley, N. S., Lancaster, J.T., Kaplan, M.L., Ralph, F.M. (2017): Synoptic conditions associated with cool season post-fire debris flows in the Transverse Ranges of southern California. Nat. Hazards. 88, 1, 327-354, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-017-2867-6
Hatchett, B.J., Burak, S., Rutz, J.J., Oakley, N.S., Bair, E.H., Kaplan, M.L. (2017): Avalanche fatalities during atmospheric river events in the western United States. J. Hydromet. 18, 5, 1359-1374, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-16-0219.1
Oakley, N. S. and Daudert, B. (2016): Improving usefulness and usability of web pages providing atmospheric data. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc. 97, 263-274, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00121.1
Oakley, N. S. and Redmond, K.T. (2014): A Climatology of 500 hPa Closed Lows in the Northeast Pacific, 1948-2011. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol. 53, 6, 1578-1592, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0223.1
Book Chapters
Contributor to two chapters in Jakob, M., Santi, P., McDougall, S. (Eds.) (2024). Advances in debris-flow science and practice. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48691-3.
Other Publications and Reports
Oakley, N. S., Hatchett, B.J., McEvoy, D., Rodriguez, L., 2019: Projected Changes in Ventura County Climate. Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada. https://wrcc.dri.edu/Climate/reports.php .
Oakley, N. S., 2013: What Can Climate Services Learn From E-Commerce? Mountain Views: The Newsletter for the Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains, 7 (1), 36-39.
Millar, C. and Oakley, N.S., 2013: Lenticular Clouds Revisited. Mountain Views: The Newsletter for the Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains, 7 (1), 47-50.
WRCC Monthly Summaries, 2011-2020: https://wrcc.dri.edu/Climate/Monthly_Summaries/west_summaries.php NOAA
Western Region Quarterly Impacts and Outlooks, 2013-2020 https://www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports
Nina Oakley, Ph.D. 