Anomalías sinópticas y su relación con el incremento de granizo en 2006

Abstract

Hailstorms are one of the principal risks in the SW of Europe. Specifically, the Mid-Ebro Valley (VME), is the area that has the greatest frequency of registered hail events in Spain, with economic losses of approximately 100 M€ annually. The Group for Atmospheric Physics (GFA) at the University of León has done research campaigns in the VME continuously since 2001, registering 60 storm days per year via meteorological radar. Recent studies by the GFA have determined what the synoptic and mesoscale characteristic of hailstorms between 2001-2008 are. The synoptic patterns correspond to five clusters identified via the geopotential height and temperature of 850 hPa and 500 hPa fields. The mesoscale study has allowed us to identify the factors responsible for the onset of convection. Furthermore, these results show that 2006 was an exceptional year, with 50 days of hailstorms between May and September, compared to an average of 32.3. This paper analyzes the synoptic patterns characteristic of summer of 2006, their relationship to hailstorms, and their anomalies with respect to the 2001-2010 period and the climatological period 1950-2010.