Abstract
This study examines the exceptional Alpine south foehn event of 14–16 November 2002 using routine observations and high-resolution numerical simulations. Besides its long duration and an extremely high temperature level related to warm-air advection from the northern Sahara, this foehn event exhibited an unusual spatial structure of the low-level wind and temperature field. Whereas the foehn was largely restricted to the first half of 14 November in the western part of the Alps (Switzerland), it extended over the full period in the inner-Alpine valleys in the eastern Alps. The duration and intensity of the foehn also tended to decrease from the Alpine crest towards the northern rim of the Alps. Most surprisingly, continuous foehn even occurred on the windward side of the Alpine crest, namely in a basin located in the southeastern Alps. The distribution of the orographic precipitation associated with the foehn case was unusual as well. In Switzerland, intense precipitation was not restricted to the windward (southern) side of the Alps but extended to the northern side of the Alpine crest, particularly on 16 November.
Published Version
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