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WINTER RECREATION AND SNOW
Zahradníček, Pavel ; Rožnovský, J. ; Štěpánek, Petr ; Farda, Aleš ; Brzezina, J.
Climate assessment should not be limited to just statistical analysis, but also look at relationships in data and its uses in other areas of everyday life. One such area is tourism and recreation, which is also to a great extent influenced by the weather. This paper focuses on the winter season and the related possibilities for tourism. One of the key factors is snow conditions of the particular place. This analysis takes into account the amount of new snow and maximum snow depth and changes in these parameters as a result of the current global climate change. Especially in the last 15 years, years with less snow are more frequent and this is especially seen at highest altitudes of the country. The study also analyzed outputs of climate models with regards to winter season, including calculations of the number of melting days.
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DYNAMICS OF WINTER SEVERITY AND ITS EFFECT ON RECREATION
Zahradníček, Pavel ; Rožnovský, J. ; Brzezina, J. ; Štěpánek, Petr ; Farda, Aleš ; Chuchma, F.
Air temperature in winter months and colder half-year is an important factor for wide range of human activities, including recreation. As a result of current climate change, average air temperatures increase in winter as well. This, however, does not mean that there are no frosts. Each winter season can be assessed using several parameters. In this paper we used the sum of effective air temperatures below 0 degrees C and- 5 degrees C. Absolute minimum air temperature was used as an indicator of the extremity of a particular period. Space-time analysis has been performed for both parameters. Air temperatures in winter months are to a large extent influenced by the continentality of the climate. In general, the temperatures in Bohemia rise faster compared to Moravia and the absolute lowest minimum air temperatures are observed in the Western parts of the country. Based on a multiparametric analysis of climate characteristics, the coldest winter and colder half-year was in 1963, in contrast, the mildest winter was in 2007.
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Frost Indexes for the Cold Half-year in the Czech Republic
Zahradníček, Pavel ; Rožnovský, J. ; Brzezina, J. ; Štěpánek, Petr ; Farda, Aleš ; Chuchma, F. ; Potopová, V.
The dynamics of air temperatures during cold half-year to a large extent affect all human activities. Most significant damages are caused by minimum air temperatures dropping to very low values. Due to the current ongoing climate change, air temperatures in winter in general are increasing, however, this does not necessarily mean the frequency of these very low temperatures decreases. It is not easy to express the course of air temperatures during cold periods using some simple characteristic. Meteorologists and climatologists use various characteristics, which can be referred to as frost indexes. These include the number of frost, ice or arctic days. Since these indexes not always perfectly reflect reaction of the nature to a particular temperature threshold, the analysis also included number of days with minimum air temperature below -3, -5, -7, -10, -15, -20 and -25°C. In the last 15 years (2001-2015), there has been a decrease in the frost indexes in comparison to the normal period 1961-1990, this trend however, is not always statistically significant. Significant changes were found in particular in case of the number of days with a higher temperature threshold (frost, ice days and minimum air temperature above -3 to -10°C). In contrast, days with extremely low temperatures are relatively rare (sometimes only observed once in several years), so the dominant factor here is rather variability. The paper also includes an analysis of possible future development based on the most recent climatological models.
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Determination and Changes in Winter Severity in the Period between 1961 and 2015
Zahradníček, Pavel ; Rožnovský, J. ; Brzezina, J. ; Štěpánek, Petr ; Farda, Aleš ; Chuchma, F. ; Potopová, V.
Values of the minimum air temperatures during cold periods, especially winter, have often negative impacts on a wide range of human activities. In the past there have been many cases when rapid decrease in air temperature caused damages to machines, halted traffic etc. Every winter or cold half-year can be assessed using several parameters. In this article, three climatological characteristics were used. First was the average air temperature. Second was the sum of effective air temperatures below 0°C and -5°C. Last characteristic, which determines the extremity of that particular period, is the absolute minimum air temperature. Space-time analysis was performed for all the three characteristics. Statistically, the most significant change was found in case of the average air temperature – there is a gradual warming since 1961. Air temperatures during winter are to a large extent affected by the continentality of the climate. In Bohemia, the warming is faster than in Moravia and the western part of the country has the lowest absolute minimum air temperatures. Using multiparametric analysis of climatological characteristics it was found that the coldest winter and coldest half-year from the analyzed years was in 1963. In contrast, mildest winter was in 2007. Current climatological models predict that winter temperatures by the end of 21st century will be higher by 2.4°C to 4.9°C, which would mean a significant change in the current winter conditions.\n
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