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Mountain wave episodes using the high-resolution HARMONIE-AROME model in Spain.
  • +7
  • Javier Diaz-Fernandez,
  • Lara Quitián Hernández,
  • Daniel Santos-Muñoz,
  • Sergio Fernández-González,
  • Francisco Valero,
  • Andrés Merino,
  • Eduardo García-Ortega,
  • José Luis Sánchez,
  • Mariano Sastre,
  • Maria Luisa Martin
Javier Diaz-Fernandez
Department of Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences. Faculty of Physics. Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n. 28040 Madrid. Spain.

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Lara Quitián Hernández
Dpto. Astrofísica y Física de la Atmósfera. Facultad de Física. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Ciudad Universitaria s/n. 28040 Madrid. Spain.
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Daniel Santos-Muñoz
State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Leonardo Prieto Castro, 8. 28040 Madrid. Spain.
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Sergio Fernández-González
State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), Leonardo Prieto Castro, 8. 28040 Madrid. Spain.
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Francisco Valero
Dpto. Astrofísica y Física de la Atmósfera. Facultad de Física. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Ciudad Universitaria s/n. 28040 Madrid. Spain.
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Andrés Merino
Atmospheric Physics Group, IMA, University of León, 24071 León, Spain.
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Eduardo García-Ortega
Atmospheric Physics Group, IMA, University of León, 24071 León, Spain.
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José Luis Sánchez
Atmospheric Physics Group, IMA, University of León, 24071 León, Spain.
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Mariano Sastre
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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Maria Luisa Martin
Dpto. Matemática Aplicada. E. de Ingeniería Informática. Universidad de Valladolid. Pza. Alto de los Leones, 1. 40005 Segovia. Spain.
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Abstract

Turbulence and icing represent a danger for the aircrafts. In fact, turbulence is the leading cause of aircraft accidents related to meteorology. Both turbulence and icing weather hazards can occur in mountain waves simultaneously. For this reason, it is important to study these weather phenomena. Here, the HARMONIE-AROME model is used in order to analyze mountain wave events in the Guadarrama and the Cantabrian Mountain Ranges (Spain). This short-range mesoscale numerical weather prediction model is used for operational weather forecasts in many European meteorological organizations with a horizontal resolution of 2.5 km. In this study, a spatial resolution of 1 x 1 km is selected. In the analyzed areas, mountain waves are formed on the leeward side when strong winds, perpendicular to the mountains (usually north or northwest winds), are forced to ascend. Simulated total cloud cover and z-wind component have been analyzed and compared with satellite images. The validation of these mountain wave episodes between the HARMONIE-AROME simulations and satellite observations were satisfactory. The most notable differences were observed in the hours of the mountain wave formation/dissipation.