Multi‐indices analysis of southern Scandinavian storminess 1780–2005 and links to interdecadal variations in the NW Europe–North Sea region

• Published in: International Journal of Climatology
• Main Authors: Bärring, Lars, Fortuniak, Krzysztof
• Other Authors: European Community
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2009
• Subjects: North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.1842; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.1842; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.1842

Abstract Extra‐tropical cyclone frequency and intensity are currently under intense scrutiny because of the destruction recent windstorms have brought to Europe, and because they are a major meridional heat transport mechanism that may respond to differential latitudinal warming trends. Several studies using reanalysis data covering the second half of the 20th century suggest increasing storm intensity in the northeastern Atlantic and European sector. Fewer analyses cover a longer time period but show different trends or point towards the dominance of interdecadal variability instead of any clear trends. Hence, it is relevant to analyse cyclone variability over as long a period as possible. In this study, we analyse interdecadal variability in cyclone activity over northwestern Europe back to AD 1780 by combining information from eight storminess indices applied in an Eulerian framework. These indices, including four new approaches towards gauging cyclone activity, use the series of thrice‐daily sea level pressure observations at Lund and Stockholm. We find pronounced interdecadal variability in cyclonic activity but no significant overall consistent long‐term trend. The major interdecadal‐scale variability common to all indices is in good agreement with geostrophic wind reconstructions for NE Atlantic and NW Europe, and with variations in the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO). Our results show that the reanalysis studies cover a time period chiefly coinciding with a marked, but not exceptional in our 225‐year perspective, positive variation in the regional cyclone activity that has more recently reversed. Because of the interdecadal variations, a near‐centennial time perspective is needed when analysing variations in extra‐tropical cyclone activity and the associated weather conditions over northwestern Europe. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society