Large-scale Rossby wave and synoptic-scale dynamic analyses of the unusually late 2016 heatwave over Europe

2018

This paper analyses the late summer heatwave over Europe in 2016. Central, western and southwestern Europe were primarily affected by the high temperatures. Seville, Spain, for example, experienced the highest September temperature on record on 5 September 2016, reaching a maximum of 44.8°C, and temperatures in Trier, Germany reached 34.2°C on 13 September 2016. The heatwave was marked by three distinct peaks, accompanied by record‐breaking values for 500hPa geopotential heights and, to a lesser extent, 850hPa temperatures. These peaks were associated with the arrival of high‐amplitude Rossby wave packets in western Europe. The latter originated several days before the event over western No…