THE 2011 AUTUMN IN SOUTHWESTERN OF ROMANIA – AN ATYPICAL AUTUMN
MIHAELA-NELI BRÂNCUŞ, CARMEN MĂNESCU, DOINA-CRISTINA BURADA
ABSTRACT: The 2011 autumn in Southwestern Of Romania – an atypical autumn. In terms of weather, autumn is a season of transition that is characterized mainly by a decreasing temperature and an increasing thermodynamic stability of the atmosphere. The 2011 autumn in Oltenia (southwestern Romania) was atypical, due of the deficitary precipitation regime and an abrupt thermal variation. September was dominated by high temperatures (4 days whit critical values of THI) and a poor regime of precipitations. Summum rainfall in October was achieved in October 8 and 9, when over Oltenia a cold front due of a Mediterannean Low origin passed. The last autumn month was characterized by temperatures bellow the climatological averages and also by the lack of precipitations, although in November Oltenia is characterized by the appearance of a secondary maximum rainfall due to increased of the cyclonic activity in the Mediterranean basin. According World Meteorolgical Organization (WMO), meteorological drought is usually defined on the basis of the degree of dryness (in comparison to some “normal” or average amount) and the duration of the dry period. Definitions of meteorological drought must be considered as specific to a region since the atmospheric conditions that result in deficiencies of precipitation are highly variable from region to region. Meteorological drought leeds to agricultural drought, hydrological and socioeconomic drought.
The aim of this paper consist in identification, among the 2011 autumn’s caracteristics, of previous definition main elements to be able to tell if, indeed it was a normal autumn from climatological point of view, or it was registred one episode of deviation from „normal”.
Keywords: hight thermal regime, deficitary precipitation regime, blocking circulation