Plain Language Summary
Landslides are often triggered by precipitation and as a result are
sensitive to local climate conditions. Climate change is impacting
precipitation patterns worldwide and therefore will likely have a
profound influence on landslide activity over the coming decades. Here
we use standardized open-access satellite radar data to assess landslide
sensitivity to precipitation across a large rainfall gradient in
California between 2015 and 2020. During this time period, our study
area experienced some of the wettest and driest years on record, which
is a precipitation pattern that is predicted to become the norm over the
next century in California. We found that landslides in both wet regions
of northwestern California and dry regions of southwestern California
were similarly sensitive to seasonal and multi-year changes in
precipitation. These landslides moved faster than average during wet
years and slower than average during dry years. Our findings further
confirm landslide sensitivity to climate change under diverse
hydroclimate conditions and highlight the need to establish a long time
series of landslide behaviors that can be used to better predict future
landslide activity.