A White Christmas or A Christmas Thaw? Changes in snow cover depth in German-Polish lowlands during the last decade of December against daily circulation patterns
Snow cover occurrence in the German-Polish lowlands during the third decade of December in years 1971-2000 was investigated. Synoptic maps and anomaly composite maps for the days with snowfalls and for the thaw days have been constructed based on the daily sea level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Borntraeger
2006-12-01
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| Series: | Meteorologische Zeitschrift |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0165 |
| Summary: | Snow cover occurrence in the German-Polish lowlands during the third decade of December in years 1971-2000 was investigated. Synoptic maps and anomaly composite maps for the days with snowfalls and for the thaw days have been constructed based on the daily sea level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential heights data. The decrease in the snow cover depth is related to lows over the east Atlantic and west Europe, causing southwesterly airflow. Three types of circulation favourable for snow cover formation have been distinguished, using the k-means cluster analysis. Two of them cause air advection from the north. The third type is characterized by high pressure gradient and a dynamic, deep low shifting from the west to central Europe. |
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| ISSN: | 0941-2948 |