Meteorological causes and climatic contextualization of the precipitation of the storm Gloria

Abstract

Extreme precipitation phenomena are a component of the Mediterranean climate. The analysis of the meteorological causes of these phenomena, as well as their present and future climatic context, will enable us to attenuate the impact of these natural hazards. The present paper analyses the episode involving Storm Gloria, which affected Catalonia in January 2020. Total precipitation surpassed 400 mm in the Transversal and the Montseny mountain ranges. The synoptic situation was characterised by a strong easterly advection, which favoured maximum-intensity gusts winds and a strong waves on the coast, with a closed upper-level low. The rainfall totals were not exceptional in relation to other recent historic episodes; in fact, what was extraordinary were the duration of the event and its impact throughout Catalonia. In the future, the potential impacts of extreme episodes like Gloria might be more closely related to the management of the territory and, in particular, the coastline, than with the greater frequency of this kind of phenomena.

Keywords: Catalonia, Levant storm, Storm Gloria, synoptic situation, torrential precipitation.