INTEXseas

New paper on concurrent and sequential Scandinavian and Central European heatwaves with INTEXseas co-authors

Together with colleagues from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) and University of Bergen (Norway) we have analyzed the dynamical mechanisms that lead to concurrent and sequential heat waves in Scandinavia and Central Europe. Such events are socio-economically relevant, because the affected area of concurrent and sequential heat waves can far exceed the area affected by individual heat waves. The study led by Clemens Spensberger (University of Bergen) has now been accepted in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society (QJRMS). Several INTEXseas members (Maxi Böttcher, Lukas Papritz, Michael Sprenger and Matthias Röthlisberger) contributed to this study which highlights the relevance of weak pressure gradient situations over Central Europe for co-occurring Central European and Scandianvian heat waves. Such weak pressure gradient situations are conducive to heat waves over central Europe and typically form at the southern fringe of the a blocking anticyclone, which fosters heat over Scandinavia. Moreover, concurrent heat waves are observed more frequently than one would expect under the assumption that Scandinavian heat waves are statistically independend from Central European heat waves. Overall, the study thus highlights several key dynamical aspects of heat waves affecting unusually large areas.