A climatological analysis of Saharan cyclones

作者：Ammar K^*; El Metwally Mossad; Almazroui Mansour; Wahab M M Abdel

来源：Climate Dynamics, 2014, 43(1-2): 483-501.

DOI：10.1007/s00382-013-2025-0

• Saharan cyclones
• Climatology
• Tracks

In this study, the climatology of Saharan cyclones is presented in order to understand the Saharan climate, its variability and its changes. This climatology includes an analysis of seasonal and interannual variations, the identification and classification of cyclone tracks, and a presentation of their chief characteristics. The data used are drawn from the 1980-2009, 2.5A degrees A xA 2.5A degrees, NCEP/NCAR reanalysis (NNRP I) dataset. It is found that cyclone numbers increase in September-October-November (SON) at 4.9 cyclones per decade, while they decrease in June-July-August at 12.3 cyclones per decade. The identification algorithm constructed 562 tracks, which are categorized into 12 distinct clusters. Around 75 % of the Saharan cyclones originate south of the Atlas Mountains. The percentage of tracks that move over the Sahara is around 48 %. The eastern Mediterranean receives 27 % of the Saharan tracks, while the western basin receives only 17 and 8 % of all the Saharan cyclones decay over the Arabian Peninsula. The maximum cyclonic activity occurs in April. There is a general decrease in the number of tracks in all categories between 1993 and 2009, compared with the period between 1980 and 1992. About 72 % of the Saharan cyclones do not live more than 3 days, and about 80 % of the cyclones in the tracks never reach central pressures 1,000 hPa during their lifetimes. The maximum deepening in the tracks occurs over the western Mediterranean and over northern Algeria.

• 出版日期2014-7