The Climatology, precipitation types and atmospheric conditions of extreme precipitation events in western Turkey.

This paper investigates the climatology, precipitation types and background physical mechanisms of extreme precipitations events (EPEs) over western Turkey during the period 2006-2015. The EPEs are described as the precipitation values above the 90th percentile obtained from the hourly precipitation dataset having high spatial resolution. Precipitation types associated with EPEs are identified by using radar outputs and Lamb Weather Type (LWT) approach. It is found that EPEs occurred more frequently in the Marmara and Aegean regions during autumn and winter months. In Marmara, mainly 21 %, 17 % and 15 % of total autumn EPEs are observed as convective (E circulation types (CTs)), cyclonic (C), and sea-effect (NE) extreme precipitations (EPs), in order. While convective EPEs are generally more active in the southern portions having rugged topography, cyclonic and sea effect EPs are more effective in the southwest and northeastern parts of Marmara. Among these three precipitation types, convective CTs produce more intense daily precipitation in the Marmara region with daily average value of 66.1 mm. Based on the hourly observations, convective types of EP which developed by the interaction between high pressure center over Balkan Peninsula and low pressure center over eastern Mediterranean, show two peak values during afternoon and evening times of the day and are linked to diurnal heating. In terms of Aegean region, cyclonic originated EPs, which include 65 % of the total winter EPEs, are more common in the whole territory and reach to its peak value during the first hours of the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]