Diurnal Distribution of Storm Characteristics in Central Macedonia During the Warm Season of the Year Using a C-Band Weather Radar

The temporal distribution of storms developed over central Macedonia is examined using data from the C-band (5-cm) weather radar located at Fyliro mountain and the cell tracker TITAN (Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, Analysis, and Nowcasting). The analysis is performed for a 5 year period from April 2006 until September 2010, focusing on April to September for each year, when the majority of convective activity occurs. Using a strict storm identification technique, storm probability distributions are computed for the number of storm cases (per radar scan), the storm area (in square kilometers), the storm intensity (maximum reflectivity and cloud top) and storm vertical integrated liquid. The objective on this analysis is to identify storm probability of occurrence, storm area and storm intensity at monthly and diurnal time steps. Results are viewed as diurnal graphs for each month, presenting the distribution of the above mentioned storm characteristics and are useful for agricultural purposes, for studying climatic characteristics of convective cells as well as for investigating rain enhancement potential.