An Exceptional Case of Freezing Rain in Bucharest (Romania)

Abstract

A high-impact freezing rain event affected parts of southeastern Romania on 24–26 January 2019. The freezing rain caused extensive damages in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. The meteorological analysis highlighted the presence of a particular synoptic pattern involving a high-pressure system advecting cold air mass at low levels, while at mid-levels a warm and humid intrusion was associated with a low-pressure system of Mediterranean origin. At Bucharest, the vertical profiles from ERA5 and radiosondes emphasized the presence of a thick warm layer between 1000–1400 m above the re-freezing layer close to the surface. A climatology of freezing rain events in Bucharest was built to understand the frequency and intensity of this phenomenon. On average, there were approximately 5 observations of freezing rain in Bucharest per year between 1980–2018. The number of consecutive freezing rain days was used as a proxy for the event severity. Moderate-duration events (2 consecutive days) represented 16 periods of all 59 non-overlapping freezing rain periods in Bucharest and long-duration events (3 consecutive days) represented 3 periods. The monthly distribution showed that freezing rain occurs more frequently between December–February with a maximum in December. The moderate and long-duration freezing rain events were associated with two main sub-synoptic patterns related to the Carpathians lee cyclogenesis.

Spatiotemporal Variability of Convective Events in Romania Based on METAR Data

“…13, 14), and southern region (station no. 15, 16, 17)-as the climate of each region is influenced differently by the presence of the Carpathian chain and the Black Sea [41,42].…”

“…The LRCK station, located near the Black Sea coast, recorded the highest frequency of +SH in January and February. This might be explained by local factors, such as the proximity of the Black Sea and the characteristic eastern atmospheric circulation pattern [42]. Generally, GR phenomena occurred from April to September.…”

Socioeconomic Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring Uncertainty in the Forecast of the Romanian Unemployment Rate for the Period 2020–2023

“…The Box-Jenkins methodology is a five-step iterative procedure, used widely for the forecasting of univariate time series comprising the identification stage, estimation, diagnostics, selection, and forecasting [50,59,66]. A detailed diagram of the main stages of the Box-Jenkins methodology is displayed in Figure 1.…”

“…The model estimation stage relies mainly on the usage of the following methods: the least squares method, the maximum probability method, or the Yule-Walker algorithm [66]. In case the series contain MA terms or a mix of both AR and MA terms (ARMA), the parameters can be estimated using nonlinear estimation methods, such as the maximum likelihood (ML) method [30].…”

A Methodological Framework for the Resilience Analysis of Road Transport Networks Exposed to Freezing Rain

“…However, the main area of effect of this hazard is air transport infrastructures and road transport infrastructures due to the formation of ice on roads (Forbes et al 2014). For instance, a severe FR event partly affected south-eastern Romania between 24-26 January 2019, and resulted in closure of multiple roads and damage to 759 cars (Andrei et al 2019). (Forbes et al 2014).…”