scholarly journals Characterization of Extreme Precipitation Events in the Pyrenees. From the Local to the Synoptic Scale.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Lemus-Canovas ◽  
Joan-A. Lopez-Bustins ◽  
Javier Martín-Vide ◽  
Amar Halifa-Marin ◽  
Damián Insua-Costa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
Eastern Pyrenees ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Mountain Systems ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Precipitation Events ◽  
Western Pyrenees

Mountain systems within the Mediterranean region, e.g. the Pyrenees, are very sensitive to climate change. In the present study, we quantified the magnitude of extreme precipitation events and the number of days with torrential precipitation (daily precipitation ≥ 100 mm) in all the rain gauges available in the Pyrenees for the 1981-2015 period, analyzing the contribution of the synoptic scale in this type of events. The easternmost (under the Mediterranean influence) and north-westernmost (under Atlantic influence) areas of the Pyrenees registered the highest number of torrential events. The heaviest events are expected in the eastern part, i.e. 400 mm day-1 for a return period of 200 years. Northerly advections over the Iberian Peninsula, which present a low zonal index, i.e. im-plying a stronger meridional component, give rise to torrential events over the western Pyrenees; and easterly advections favour extreme precipitation over the eastern Pyrenees. The air mass travels a long way, from the east coast of North America, bringing heavy rainfall to the western Pyrenees. In the case of the torrential events over the eastern Pyrenees, the air mass causing the events in these areas is very short and originates in the Mediterranean Basin. The NAO index has no influence upon the occurrence of torrential events in the Pyrenees, but these events are closely related to certain Mediterranean teleconnections such as the WeMO

scholarly journals Characterisation of Extreme Precipitation Events in the Pyrenees: From the Local to the Synoptic Scale

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 665
Author(s):  
Marc Lemus-Canovas ◽  
Joan Albert Lopez-Bustins ◽  
Javier Martín-Vide ◽  
Amar Halifa-Marin ◽  
Damián Insua-Costa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
The North ◽  
Eastern Pyrenees ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Precipitation Events ◽  
Western Pyrenees

Mountain systems within the Mediterranean region, e.g., the Pyrenees, are very sensitive to climate change. In the present study, we quantified the magnitude of extreme precipitation events and the number of days with torrential precipitation (daily precipitation ≥ 100 mm) in all the rain gauges available in the Pyrenees for the 1981–2015 period, analyzing the contribution of the synoptic scale in this type of event. The easternmost (under Mediterranean influence) and north-westernmost (under Atlantic influence) areas of the Pyrenees registered the highest number of torrential events. The heaviest events are expected in the eastern part, i.e., 400 mm day−1 for a return period of 200 years. Northerly advections over the Iberian Peninsula, which present a low zonal index, i.e., implying a stronger meridional component, give rise to torrential events over the western Pyrenees; and easterly advections favour extreme precipitation over the eastern Pyrenees. The air mass travels a long way, from the east coast of North America, bringing heavy rainfall to the western Pyrenees. In the case of the torrential events over the eastern Pyrenees, the trajectory of the air mass causing the events in these areas is very short and originates in the Mediterranean Basin. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index has no influence upon the occurrence of torrential events in the Pyrenees, but these events are closely related to certain Mediterranean teleconnections such as the Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO).

scholarly journals Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the Eastern and Western Mediterranean

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 3687-3732 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Dayan ◽  
K. M. Nissen ◽  
U. Ulbrich
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Abstract. This review discusses published studies of heavy rainfall events over the Mediterranean Basin, combining them in a more general picture of the dynamic and thermodynamic factors and processes producing heavy rain storms. It distinguishes the Western and Eastern Mediterranean in order to point at specific regional peculiarities. The crucial moisture for developing intensive convection over these regions can be originated not only from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea but also from distant upwind sources. Transport from remote sources is usually in the mid-tropospheric layers and associated with specific features and patterns of the larger scale circulations. The synoptic systems (tropical and extra-tropical) accounting for most of the major extreme precipitation events and the coupling of circulation and extreme rainfall patterns are presented. Heavy rainfall over the Mediterranean Basin is caused at times in concert by several atmospheric processes working at different atmospheric scales, such as local convection, upper-level synoptic-scale troughs, and meso-scale convective systems. Under tropical air mass intrusions, convection generated by static instability seems to play a more important role than synoptic-scale vertical motions. Locally, the occurrence of torrential rains and their intensity is dependent on factors such as temperature profiles and implied instability, atmospheric moisture, and lower-level convergence.

scholarly journals Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the eastern and western Mediterranean

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2525-2544 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Dayan ◽  
K. Nissen ◽  
U. Ulbrich
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Abstract. This review discusses published studies of heavy rainfall events over the Mediterranean Basin, combining them in a more general picture of the dynamic and thermodynamic factors and processes that produce heavy rain storms. It distinguishes the western and eastern Mediterranean in order to point out specific regional peculiarities. The crucial moisture for developing intensive convection over these regions can be originated not only from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea but also from distant upwind sources. Transport from remote sources is usually in the mid-tropospheric layers and associated with specific features and patterns of the larger-scale circulations. The synoptic systems (tropical and extratropical) that account for most of the major extreme precipitation events and the coupling of circulation and extreme rainfall patterns are presented. Heavy rainfall over the Mediterranean Basin is caused at times in concert by several atmospheric processes working at different atmospheric scales, such as local convection, upper synoptic-scale-level troughs, and mesoscale convective systems. Under tropical air-mass intrusions, convection generated by static instability seems to play a more important role than synoptic-scale vertical motions. Locally, the occurrence of torrential rains and their intensity is dependent on factors such as temperature profiles and implied instability, atmospheric moisture, and lower-level convergence.

Predictability of precipitation extremes over the Mediterranean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignazio Giuntoli ◽  
Federico Fabiano ◽  
Susanna Corti
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Seasonal Prediction ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Weather Regimes ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Prediction Systems ◽  
Precipitation Events

<p>Intense precipitations events are associated with impacts like damages to infrastructures, economic activities, agricultural crops, power production and society in general. The ability to predict extreme precipitation events months in advance is therefore of great value in densely populated areas like the Mediterranean and may be achieved using seasonal prediction systems like the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S) suite of models. Using weather regimes (WRs) from 500 hPa geopotential heights over the Mediterranean the two main objectives of this study are: first to identify how these regimes are linked to extreme precipitation events over the region using reanalysis data; and second to assess the ability of the C3S models in reproducing/predicting these extreme events. We identify four weather regimes for the winter season (DJF) describing the atmospheric circulation in the Mediterranean using the 1993-2016 period as reference, i.e. maximum availability of C3S hindcasts. We thus provide an assessment of the models’s ability in predicting extreme precipitation over the Mediterranean having quantified how daily precipitation anomalies are associated to each WR.</p>

The role of the export of tropical moisture into midlatitudes for extreme precipitation events in the Mediterranean region

2014 ◽  
Vol 121 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 499-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon O. Krichak ◽  
Joseph Barkan ◽  
Joseph S. Breitgand ◽  
Silvio Gualdi ◽  
Steven B. Feldstein
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Tropical Moisture ◽  
Precipitation Events

scholarly journals A global climatological perspective on the importance of Rossby wave breaking and intense moisture transport for extreme precipitation events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andries Jan De Vries
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Wave ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Wave Breaking ◽  
Moisture Transport ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Rossby Wave Breaking ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The World ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Precipitation Events

<p>Extreme precipitation events (EPEs) frequently cause flooding with dramatic socioeconomic impacts in many parts of the world. Previous studies considered two synoptic-scale processes, Rossby wave breaking and intense moisture transport, typically in isolation, and their linkage to such EPEs in several regions. This study presents for the first time a global and systematic climatological analysis of these two synoptic-scale processes, in tandem and in isolation, for the occurrence of EPEs. To this end, we use 40-year ERA-Interim reanalysis data (1979-2018) and apply object-based identification methods for (i) daily EPEs, (ii) stratospheric potential vorticity (PV) streamers as indicators of Rossby wave breaking, and (iii) structures of high vertically integrated horizontal water vapor transport (IVT). First, the importance of these two synoptic-scale processes is demonstrated by case studies of previously documented flood events that inflicted catastrophic impacts in different parts of the world. Next, a climatological quantification shows that Rossby wave breaking is associated with > 90 % of EPEs near high topography and over the Mediterranean, whereas intense moisture transport is linked to > 95 % of EPEs over many coastal zones, consistent with findings of atmospheric river-related studies. Combined Rossby wave breaking and intense moisture transport contributes up to 70 % of EPEs in several subtropical and extratropical regions, including (semi)arid desert regions where tropical-extratropical interactions are of key importance for (heavy) rainfall. A detailed analysis shows that five categories with different combinations of wave breaking and intense moisture transport can reflect a large range of EPE-related weather systems across various climate zones. Odds ratios of EPEs linked to the two synoptic-scale processes suggest that intense moisture transport is stronger associated with the occurrence of EPEs than wave breaking. Furthermore, the relationship between the PV and IVT characteristics and the precipitation volumes shows that the depth of the wave breaking and moisture transport intensity are intimately connected with the extreme precipitation severity. Finally, composites reveal that subtropical and extratropical EPEs, linked to Rossby wave breaking, go along with the formation of upper-level troughs and cyclogenetic processes near the surface downstream, reduced static stability beneath the upper-level forcing (only over water), and dynamical lifting ahead (over water and land). This study concludes with a concept that reconciles well-established meteorological principles with the importance of Rossby wave breaking and intense moisture transport for extreme precipitation events. The findings of this study may contribute to an improved understanding of the atmospheric processes that lead to EPEs, and may find application in climatic studies on extreme precipitation changes in a warming climate.</p>

scholarly journals Discussing the role of tropical and subtropical moisture sources in extreme precipitation events in the Mediterranean region from a climate change perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 3983-4005 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O. Krichak ◽  
S. B. Feldstein ◽  
P. Alpert ◽  
S. Gualdi ◽  
E. Scoccimarro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Atmospheric Rivers ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract. Extreme precipitation events in the Mediterranean region during the cool season are strongly affected by the export of moist air from tropical and subtropical areas into the extratropics. The aim of this paper is to present a discussion of the major research efforts on this subject and to formulate a summary of our understanding of this phenomenon, along with its recent past trends from a climate change perspective. The issues addressed are: a discussion of several case studies; the origin of the air moisture and the important role of atmospheric rivers for fueling the events; the mechanism responsible for the intensity of precipitation during the events, and the possible role of global warming in recent past trends in extreme weather events over the Mediterranean region.

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