Université de Fribourg

Numerical investigation of an extreme storm with the Canadian Regional Climate Model: the case study of windstorm VIVIAN, Switzerland, February 27, 1990

Goyette, Stéphane ; Beniston, Martin ; Caya, D. ; Laprise, R. ; Jungo, Patricia

In: Climate Dynamics, 2001, vol. 18(1-2), p. 145

The windstorm VIVIAN that severely affected Switzerland in February 1990 has been investigated using the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM). This winter storm was characterised by a deep cyclone in the North Atlantic and by strong geopotential and baroclinic north-south gradients in the troposphere over Western Europe resulting in high windspeeds in Switzerland. Our principal emphasis is to...

Université de Fribourg

Daily wind gust speed probabilities over Switzerland according to three types of synoptic circulation

Jungo, Patricia ; Goyette, Stéphane ; Beniston, Martin

In: International Journal of Climatology, 2002, vol. 22(4), p. 485

The nowcasting and prediction of strong winds are still far from adequate, using either statistical or numerical modelling approaches. During the last decade, Switzerland has been struck by two extratropical storms, namely the February 1990 storm Vivian, and the December 1999 storm Lothar, that caused severe damage to infrastructure and to forests. Although numerical weather prediction models...

Université de Fribourg

Shifts in the distributions of pressure, temperature and moisture and changes in the typical weather patterns in the Alpine region in response to the behavior of the North Atlantic Oscillation

Beniston, Martin ; Jungo, Patricia

In: Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 2002, vol. 71(1-2), p. 29

An investigation has been undertaken to assess the manner in which the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) influences average, climatic conditions, and also extremes of dynamic and thermodynamic variables. By choosing representative sites in the Swiss Alps, the present study shows that there is a high sensitivity of the extremes of the probability density functions of temperature, moisture and...

Université de Fribourg

20th century minimum and maximum temperature variations analysed on a regional scale in Switzerland : statistical analyses of observational data

Jungo, Patricia ; Beniston, Martin (Dir.) ; Collet, Claude (Codir.) ; Frei, Christoph (Codir.) ; Wanner, Heinz (Codir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Université de Fribourg, 2001 ; no 1365.

The major aim of this study is to describe in a detailed manner the 20th century minimum and maximum temperature variations in Switzerland and to assess whether the magnitude of the secular warming and its interannual to interdecadal fluctuations show common seasonal patterns in different climatological regions. In a first step different climatological regions could successfully be...