Review Article: Atmospheric conditions inducing extreme precipitation over the eastern and western Mediterranean
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...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/15/2525/2015/nhess-15-2525-2015.pdf |
| Summary: | 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. |
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| ISSN: | 1561-8633 1684-9981 |