Analysis of Sub-Daily Precipitation for the PannEx Region

Monika Lakatos,Predrag Petrovic,Barbara Chimani,David Pritchard,Katja Kozjek,Dragan Mihic,Olivér Szentes,Petr Stepanek,Ksenija Cindrić Kalin,Adrian Irașoc,Alexandru Dumitrescu,Katarína Mikulová,Aleš Farda,Irena Nimac,Sorin Cheval,Peter Kajaba

doi:10.3390/atmos12070838

Abstract

The PannEx is a GEWEX-initiated, community driven research network in the Pannonian Basin. One of the main scientific issues to address in PannEx is the investigation of precipitation extremes. Meteorological Services in the PannEx area collected the hourly precipitation data and commonly used a computer program, which was developed in the INTENSE project, to produce a set of global hydro-climatic indices. Calculations are carried out on data aggregated 1-, 3- and 6-h intervals. Selected indices are analyzed in this paper to assess the general climatology of the short-term precipitation in the Pannonian basin. The following indices are illustrated on maps and graphs: the annual mean and maxima of 1-h, 3-h and 6-h sums, the count of 3-hr periods greater than 20 mm thresholds, the maximum length of wet hours, the timing of wettest hour and the 1-h precipitation intensity. The seasonal trends of the 1-h precipitation intensity were tested from 1998 to 2019. Analysis of sub-daily precipitation has been limited by the availability of data on a global or a regional scale. The international effort made in this work through collaboration in the PannEx initiative contributes to enlarging the data availability for regional and global analysis of sub-daily precipitation extremes.

Highlights

A team at Newcastle University is working on a global dataset of observed sub-daily for adaptatioN to non-Stationary hydrological Extremes) project. They have developed a precipitation indices associated with the INTENSE
Our aim was to assess some of the basic climatological properties of the sub-daily precipitation dataset collected in this initial analysis
In this study, we provided an initial climate analysis of sub-daily precipitation through collaboration within the PannEx initiative

Summary

Introduction

Heavy rainfall and storm events constantly trigger important damages and significant casualties in many regions, and enhanced understanding the variability of precipitation extremes would enable our communities to cope more efficiently with the challenges associated with the warming climate [1]. Understanding how and why precipitation extremes vary is vital for disaster preparedness and to enable adequate water resource management. This requires both understanding of how extremes have varied in the past and the ability to provide estimates for how they might change under warming climate. One of the key statements of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report centres around changes in the extremes of observed precipitation, e.g., ‘There are likely more land regions where the number of heavy precipitation events has increased than where it has decreased’ [2]

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