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Numerical simulation of an extreme rainfall event in Catalonia: Role of orography and evaporation from the sea
Author(s) -
Romero Romualdo,
Ramis Clemente,
Alonso Sergio
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49712353902
Subject(s) - orography , precipitation , evaporation , flooding (psychology) , climatology , environmental science , computer simulation , mediterranean climate , mediterranean sea , meteorology , geology , atmospheric sciences , geography , mechanics , psychology , physics , archaeology , psychotherapist
During the evening of 12 November 1988, heavy rainfall occurred in Catalonia (north‐east Spain); as a result there was flooding and heavy loss. In this paper we present a 12‐hour numerical simulation of that event by means of a meso‐β scale numerical model. the results show that the model is capable of giving the localization of observed precipitation satisfactorily, but it underestimates the amount of rainfall. Other numerical experiments were done to show the effects of orography and evaporation from the Mediterranean. the effect of orography is decisive as regards the spatial structure of precipitation over land, since it acts to concentrate the precipitation in the coastal zone. the effect of evaporation from the sea is very weak, probably on account of the shortness of the simulation.