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Climatology of the Adriatic winds in the town of Senj and Vratnik Pass

The eastern Adriatic coast is famous for the occurrence of strong winds, mostly bora and sirocco, which, due to the frequent severity, represent a great threat to traffic, infrastructure, tourism and agriculture, as well as great potential in wind energy resources. Therefore, there is a great and continuous interest in the meteorological community for airflow studies in this region. This study is focused on the data collected in the town of Senj and Vratnik Pass at the north-eastern Adriatic coast. Senj is settled literally at the coast (44.99°N, 14.90°E) while Vratnik Pass (44.98°N, 14.98°E) is ~ 10 km east of Senj in the lee of Dinaric Alps, 600 m ASL. Single point measurements of horizontal and vertical wind sampled at 4 Hz with the WindMaster ultrasonic anemometers (Gill Instruments) were performed 13 m and 10 m above the ground in Senj and Vratnik Pass, respectively. The anemometer in Senj was operative from March 2004 to June 2006, and the one in Vratnik Pass from Oct. 2004 to Sept. 2005. We analyzed the data-sets in the period when both anemometers were operational. Due to various technical difficulties, this pertains to almost a nine month period between Oct. 2004 and Sept. 2005. For this period, we calculate and compare 1-h mean horizontal winds on both sites, classified with respect to the mean horizontal wind speed and mean direction. The most prominent features observed from this comparison are: a) In ≈ 90 % of cases, strong bora in Vratnik Pass implies strong bora in Senj. b) In ≈ 50 % of cases, strong SW wind in Vratnik Pass implies moderate sirocco in Senj. c) In ≈ 50 % of cases, weak bora in Vratnik Pass implies weak sirocco in Senj. A future work includes a quest on dynamical background of these features.

Ultrasonic anemometers; Climatology of winds; Senj; Vratnik Pass

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