Assigning precipitation to mid‐latitudes fronts on sub‐daily scales in the North Atlantic and European sector: Climatology and trends

• Published in: International Journal of Climatology
• Main Authors: Hénin, Riccardo, Ramos, Alexandre M., Schemm, Sebastian, Gouveia, Célia M., Liberato, Margarida L. R.
• Other Authors: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2018
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.5808; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.5808; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.5808

Atmospheric fronts are fundamental features of the weather variability in the mid‐latitudes and are frequently associated with high‐impact weather events such as hail, wind gusts or precipitation. A method to link precipitation with synoptic‐scale fronts on sub‐daily timescales is developed based on ERA‐Interim data (1979–2016). A case study, a climatology and a trend analysis are presented and discussed. Spatially, an optimal attribution radius is identified based on a random sampling technique. The method is demonstrated using a past weather event that occurred over western Europe. Annual and seasonal cycles are presented and confirm, in agreement with previous studies, that frontal precipitation accounts for a large fraction of all precipitation (up to 80%) in the mid‐latitudes, especially during autumn and winter. Finally, a negative trend in frontal precipitation is identified, mostly affecting the Gulf Stream region. Cold fronts drive most of the observed trends in this region and the trend pattern suggests a polewards displacement of the zone of enhanced precipitation.