The Climatology of Air-Mass and Frontal Extreme Precipitation

Based on a more than 50-year data series, this book discusses spatial and seasonal variability in air-mass and frontal extreme precipitation frequency and as well as the relationship between their occurrence and atmospheric circulation. The climatology of air-mass and frontal extreme precipitation is presented for the first time on a European scale. Since there is no robust, automatic method of locating atmospheric fronts, this challenging task has to be been performed manually. Moreover, there is a limited availability of the complex sub-daily data that is necessary to recognize the dynamic of meteorological fronts. The results show a clear regional and seasonal variety in the relationship between extreme precipitation occurrence and atmospheric circulation depending on precipitation origin. The probability of air-mass and frontal precipitation occurrence provides crucial information for studies on their predictability and modeling. This book is directed at students, specialists in the field of climatology and climate change, climate process modelers, and other experts for whom extreme precipitation is important.