Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany
The timing of short extreme rainstorm, which was usually thought to occur on midsummer afternoons, was investigated to improve future mitigation options for infrastructure and safety from localised flash flooding. Using a peak-over-threshold approach, the timing of 10- and 60-min extreme events was...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IWA Publishing
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Hydrology Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/52/2/478 |
| _version_ | 1818989547573215232 |
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| author | Nasrin Haacke Eva Nora Paton |
| author_facet | Nasrin Haacke Eva Nora Paton |
| author_sort | Nasrin Haacke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The timing of short extreme rainstorm, which was usually thought to occur on midsummer afternoons, was investigated to improve future mitigation options for infrastructure and safety from localised flash flooding. Using a peak-over-threshold approach, the timing of 10- and 60-min extreme events was filtered from high-resolution rainfall series assessing diurnal, seasonal, and annual distributions and analysed for spatial variations and prevailing atmospheric circulation types (CTs). The diurnal distribution showed a clear deviation from that of the entire rainfall regime. A complex spatial pattern was identified with distinct timing signatures of storms in the northern (mostly afternoon) and southern regions (a bimodal distribution with a second peak in the early morning) of Germany and a more homogenous diurnal distribution of events across the central regions. Most storms occurred in summer, but 42% of 10-min events occurred outside the summer months (June–July–August). A distinct annual clustering of extremes was identified, which varied distinctly between the 10- and 60-min extremes, indicating that the sub-hourly and hourly events were far from running conterminously. The timing of extreme events on the investigated time scales was not dominated by the occurrence of specific CTs in most cases, suggesting that other factors control these extremes. HIGHLIGHTS
Knowledge about exact timing is essential for urban water management, as these events cause damage at different spatial scales.;
Information on diurnal timing may provide fire brigades and traffic wardens with a clear picture, and seasonal street cleaning could be optimised.;
Timing is important for the planning of scientific monitoring.;
Categorised atmospheric circulation patterns can be used as the first trend indicator for risk assessment.; |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:40:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cac14490d2394370b7d4f1c09a1efb31 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1998-9563 2224-7955 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:40:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-cac14490d2394370b7d4f1c09a1efb312022-12-21T19:28:34ZengIWA PublishingHydrology Research1998-95632224-79552021-04-0152247849110.2166/nh.2021.181181Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in GermanyNasrin Haacke0Eva Nora Paton1 Department of Ecohydrology, Institute of Ecology, TU Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, Sekr. BH 8-1, 10587 Berlin, Germany Department of Ecohydrology, Institute of Ecology, TU Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, Sekr. BH 8-1, 10587 Berlin, Germany The timing of short extreme rainstorm, which was usually thought to occur on midsummer afternoons, was investigated to improve future mitigation options for infrastructure and safety from localised flash flooding. Using a peak-over-threshold approach, the timing of 10- and 60-min extreme events was filtered from high-resolution rainfall series assessing diurnal, seasonal, and annual distributions and analysed for spatial variations and prevailing atmospheric circulation types (CTs). The diurnal distribution showed a clear deviation from that of the entire rainfall regime. A complex spatial pattern was identified with distinct timing signatures of storms in the northern (mostly afternoon) and southern regions (a bimodal distribution with a second peak in the early morning) of Germany and a more homogenous diurnal distribution of events across the central regions. Most storms occurred in summer, but 42% of 10-min events occurred outside the summer months (June–July–August). A distinct annual clustering of extremes was identified, which varied distinctly between the 10- and 60-min extremes, indicating that the sub-hourly and hourly events were far from running conterminously. The timing of extreme events on the investigated time scales was not dominated by the occurrence of specific CTs in most cases, suggesting that other factors control these extremes. HIGHLIGHTS Knowledge about exact timing is essential for urban water management, as these events cause damage at different spatial scales.; Information on diurnal timing may provide fire brigades and traffic wardens with a clear picture, and seasonal street cleaning could be optimised.; Timing is important for the planning of scientific monitoring.; Categorised atmospheric circulation patterns can be used as the first trend indicator for risk assessment.;http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/52/2/478annual variationcirculation typesdiurnal variationextreme rainstormsseasonal variationsub-hourly rainfall |
| spellingShingle | Nasrin Haacke Eva Nora Paton Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany Hydrology Research annual variation circulation types diurnal variation extreme rainstorms seasonal variation sub-hourly rainfall |
| title | Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany |
| title_full | Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany |
| title_fullStr | Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany |
| title_short | Analysis of diurnal, seasonal, and annual distribution of urban sub-hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in Germany |
| title_sort | analysis of diurnal seasonal and annual distribution of urban sub hourly to hourly rainfall extremes in germany |
| topic | annual variation circulation types diurnal variation extreme rainstorms seasonal variation sub-hourly rainfall |
| url | http://hr.iwaponline.com/content/52/2/478 |
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