Contribution of Mediterranean Cyclones to the snowfall accumulation over Romania
- 1Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Iasi, Romania (vlad.amihaesei95@gmail.com)
- 2Meteo Romania (National Meteorological Administration), Bucharest, Romania
- 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- 4Doctoral School of Geography, Faculty of Geography, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Snowfall is an important component of the winter climate in Romania, influencing various economic sectors such as transportation, agriculture, and tourism. Previous studies have identified several synoptic patterns that can bring snow in south-eastern Europe, including Mediterranean Cyclones (MCs). However, the contribution of these cyclones to snowfall in Romania has not been thoroughly investigated.
This study aims to quantify the contribution of MCs to snowfall in Romania. Daily snowfall data from ERA5-LAND covering the period 1981-2020 were analyzed, along with the corresponding atmospheric circulation patterns. The MCs trajectory is based on the “best tracks” produced by the 3T initiative of the COST Action, comprising tracks for the 1979-2020 period. This method is based on 10 different cyclone tracks, using an hourly ERA-5 reanalysis data set, at a 0.25 spatial resolution. These 10 tracking methods are combined to obtain a composite track.
The results indicate that, on average, more than 60% of total snowfall in eastern and southern Romania is due to MCs manifestation. Moreover, in some particular years, in most parts of southern Romania, 90% of snow events are due to the Mediterranean cyclones. In the northern and western parts of Romania, the fraction of snowfall due to the MCs is less than 20%. This can be explained by the fact that here the westerly atmospheric circulation can heavily contribute to the total snowfall amount. The snowfall amount related to the MC varies between 40 and 290 mm. The lowest values are within the plain areas from the west, south, and east of Romania, instead, the highest values are within the mountains, varying between 40 and 290 mm.
The findings suggest that Mediterranean cyclones are an important factor in the climate of Romania, and their contribution to snowfall should be taken into account in forecasting and planning socio-economic activities.
Acknowledgment
This work was co-funded by the European Social Fund, through Operational Programme Human Capital 2014-2020, project number POCU/993/6/13/153322, project title "Educational and training support for PhD students and young researchers in preparation for insertion into the labor market".
How to cite: Amihăesei, V.-A., Raveh-Rubin, S., Sfîcă, L., Cheval, S., and Dumitrescu, A.: Contribution of Mediterranean Cyclones to the snowfall accumulation over Romania, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-356, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-356, 2023.
