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Large-scale atmospheric dynamics of the wet winter 2009–2010 and its impact on hydrology in Portugal

2010; Inter-Research Science Center; Volume: 46; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/cr00945

1616-1572

Cristina Andrade, João A. Santos, Joaquim G. Pinto, João Corte‐Real,

Hydrology and Drought Analysis

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 46:29-41 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00945 Large-scale atmospheric dynamics of the wet winter 2009–2010 and its impact on hydrology in Portugal Cristina Andrade1,2,*, João A. Santos3, Joaquim G. Pinto4, João Corte-Real2 1Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, Quinta do Contador, Estrada da Serra, 2300-313 Tomar, Portugal 2Institute of Mediterranean Agrarian and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM), Group Water, Soil and Climate, University of Évora, Núcleo da Mitra, Apartado 94, 7002-774 Évora, Portugal 3CITAB, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal 4Institute for Geophysics and Meteorology, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 13, 50923 Cologne, Germany *Email: c.andrade@ipt.pt ABSTRACT: The anomalously wet winter of 2010 had a very important impact on the Portuguese hydrological system. Owing to the detrimental effects of reduced precipitation in Portugal on the environmental and socio-economic systems, the 2010 winter was predominantly beneficial by reversing the accumulated precipitation deficits during the previous hydrological years. The recorded anomalously high precipitation amounts have contributed to an overall increase in river runoffs and dam recharges in the 4 major river basins. In synoptic terms, the winter 2010 was characterised by an anomalously strong westerly flow component over the North Atlantic that triggered high precipitation amounts. A dynamically coherent enhancement in the frequencies of mid-latitude cyclones close to Portugal, also accompanied by significant increases in the occurrence of cyclonic, south and south-westerly circulation weather types, are noteworthy. Furthermore, the prevalence of the strong negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) also emphasises the main dynamical features of the 2010 winter. A comparison of the hydrological and atmospheric conditions between the 2010 winter and the previous 2 anomalously wet winters (1996 and 2001) was also carried out to isolate not only their similarities, but also their contrasting conditions, highlighting the limitations of estimating winter precipitation amounts in Portugal using solely the NAO phase as a predictor. KEY WORDS: Winter 2010 · Precipitation · Large-scale dynamics · Water cycle · North Atlantic Oscillation · Portugal Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Andrade C, Santos JA, Pinto JG, Corte-Real J (2011) Large-scale atmospheric dynamics of the wet winter 2009–2010 and its impact on hydrology in Portugal. Clim Res 46:29-41. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00945 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 46, No. 1. Online publication date: January 20, 2011 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.