Precipitable Water Content Climatology over Poland

Abstract

In this work, the high-resolution spatial and temporal variability of precipitable water (PW) over Poland is presented. PW is one of the key parameters of the atmosphere taken into account in thermodynamic and radiation models. The daily PW values from years 2001–2010, calculated with the use of the WRF model, were compared with PW from soundings. The WRF modeled PW is in close agreement with measurements for the whole column of the troposphere and for individual levels: below 1.5 km, 1.5–3 km, 3–6 km and 6–10 km. The best agreement is observed in the lower part of the troposphere, especially for winter months. At the levels of 1.5 km to 10 km, the WRF model overestimates the PW values throughout the year, whereas up to 1.5 km PW is underestimated. The study shows an increasing trend of PW annual values between 1983 and 2010, but the trend is statistically insignificant. A significant positive trend with a high Sen’s slope is observed for the summer season up to 3 km in the troposphere, along with a significant negative tendency for spring. The trends in PW over Poland and Central Europe identified in this study contribute to the ongoing discussion on the observed climate changes.

Keywords

• precipitable water
• the Weather Research and Forecasting model
• atmospheric soundings
• spatial variability
• Poland