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UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST
FACULTY OF PHYSICS Guest
2024-11-22 1:29 |
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Conference: Bucharest University Faculty of Physics 2024 Meeting
Section: Atmosphere and Earth Science; Environment Protection
Title:
Tracing Tornadoes Through Time: Enhancing Tornado Climatology in Romania with Historical Data and Modern Analysis
Authors:
Andreea BĂRĂSCU (1), Bogdan ANTONESCU (1,2)
Affiliation:
1) Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, Str. Atomiştilor 405, 077125 Măgurele, Romania;
2) National Institute for Earth Physics, Str. Călugareni 12, 077125, Măgurele, Romania.
E-mail
andreea.barascu@s.unibuc.ro
Keywords:
tornado, climatology, tornadogenesis, historical archives
Abstract:
How tornadoes form? is a seemingly simple question, yet the answer is quite complex. Much remains to be discovered about tornadoes, tornadogenesis and the forecasting of tornadoes. One way of improving our current understanding about tornadoes is to develop detailed tornado climatologies. In this study, we are expanding the existing Romanian tornado database by meticulously documenting additional tornadic events found in historical sources.
Thus, we have conducted searches in recently available digital newspaper archives for tornado reports using keywords such as "tornado", "waterspout"( "tromba" in Romanian, a term also used in newspaper for tornadoes over land), "hurricane" (uragan), "cyclone" (ciclon), and "orcane" (orcan). The search yielded records dating as far back as the late nineteenth century, with the earliest events recorded in 1880. To the existing 191 tornadoes from the Romanian tornado database, we have added another 37 verified events. These 228 tornadoes reported between 1634 and 2023 were then used construct a new climatology of tornadoes in Romania (i.e., spatial, annual, monthly, hourly distribution). The evironments in which some of these tornadoes (aftere 1940) developed and evolved were analyzed using the ERA5 reanalysis data. Based on ERA5 data between 1940 and 2022, a series of convective indices were derived (e.g., CAPE, CIN, vertical wind shear). The comprehensive analysis of tornado records spanning over three centuries and the inclusion of newly documented events significantly contribute to our understanding of tornado climatology in Romania. This study not only enhances our knowledge of tornadic events in the region but also provides valuable insights into the environmental conditions conducive to tornado formation, thereby improving tornado forecasting and mitigation strategies.
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