How well do weather types describe the weather of an Alpine region?

In this study an existing circulation type classification method is applied to investigate the variability of meteorological quantities among and within different synoptic weather types over Trentino, a mountainous region in the Southern European Alps.

In the adopted classification scheme, circulation patterns over the Alps are characterized in terms of their degree of zonality, meridionality and vorticity over different vertical levels. Thus, the direction of the wind impacting over the Alps has a primary role when differentiating among weather types.

The relation between temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and wind measured in Trentino and the synoptic weather types affecting the Alps is investigated by means of several statistical analyses. The capability of the circulation type classification method to predict extreme weather events with respect to climatology is also explored.