CLIMATOLOGICAL characteristics of winter in BUCIN MOUNTAIN TOP
(Gurghiu Mountains, Eastern Carpathians)
O. RUSZ
Abstract. -Climatological characteristics of winter in Bucin Mountaintop (Gurghiu Mountains, Eastern Carpathians). In order to study the features of winter in Bucin Mountaintop, data collected from Bucin meteorological station (1270 m) were used. The Bucin mountaintop is situated in the central part of Gurghiu Mountains and it is a popular touristic destination. Several climatological parameters of the the cold months (November, December, January, February, March, April) in the period 1978-2010 were studied: mean temperatures, snow depth, snow cover, number of days with solid precipitation, etc. The mean temperature of these months is between -5.8°C (January) and 3.1°C (April). The absolute minimum temperature (-26.1°C) since the Bucin weather station functions (from 1978) was registered in February 1985 (in case of nearly mountain depressions this value approached -40°C). Generally, durable snow cover is present from November to April and on average 150 days/year are covered by snow. The highest mean snow depth is registered in March (76 cm). According to the Köppen asymmetric index the number of years that have lower snow depth that average is higher in case of all months. Mean number of frosty days (annual count of days when Tmin < 0°C) is 161, of extremely cold days (annual count of days when Tmin< -10°C) is 44 and of winter days (annual count of days when Tmax < 0°C) is 75. Correlation tests (Pearson) show statistically significant values in case of snow depth and mean temperature for almost all months, but in January and February, there are no statistically significant correlations between snow depth and precipitation amounts respectively number of days with solid precipitation. Generally, there are no statistically significant trends (Mann-Kendall tests) regarding these climatological parameters typical for winter.
Keyword: winter, climate, Bucin Mountaintop