Life story
High pressure system ZHYGIMONT
(baptized on the 30th
of December 2016)
Being the last high pressure system named by the Berliner Wetterkarte in 2016, the
anticyclone ZHYGIMONT was located over Newfoundland
at the end of December. On the 30th of December the high pressure
area ZHYGIMONT was predicted for the following day. With an air pressure of
1025 hPa the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT extended over a large area of the eastern United States and over the North
Atlantic.
On the following day the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT was centered over the
North Atlantic southward of Greenland with an
atmospheric pressure set at 1030 hPa. The anticyclone was embedded in a
high-pressure area in the 500 hPa level, that means in about 5 km height, which
was spreading to Greenland and is called a
ridge.
Following the direction of the prevailing winds in 5 km height, on the 1st
of January, the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT was analyzed in ground-level over the
south of Greenland as well as over Iceland. The air pressure increased
from 1030 to
1040 hPa. Due to the characteristics of high pressure systems, air mass is
sinking; thus, the anticyclone was causing a rainless day with maximum
temperatures of 3 to 2°C in Iceland, while Scandinavia was influenced by the
low pressure system CORINNA I, and its weather fronts that were bringing rain.
On the following day, the relatively stable anticyclone ZHYGIMONT
approached from the North Atlantic to influence the weather on the British Isles. In the center of the high pressure area
over the North Atlantic, located northwestern from Ireland
and southern from Iceland,
the air pressure already reached 1045 hPa. Due to maritime sub polar air
flowing to Iceland,
temperatures increased up to 11°C at the meteorological station Dalatangi in eastern Iceland. The cold front of the
cyclone CORINNA was bringing precipitation mostly to the southern parts of
England; up to 9 l/m² in St. Catherine’s Pt. in 24 hours until 7 pm, whereas in
Scotland, Wales and Ireland it remained less wet. Sunshine duration was
measured between 6 and 7 hours in England,
but only 0 to 1 in Scotland
where the sky was covered with clouds by the cyclone AXEL, which was situated
between Greenland as well as Iceland
at 1 am. Maximum temperatures reached 7°C in Plymouth,
West Freugh or Stornoway; weather stations located at
higher altitudes recorded maximum temperatures of -2°C in Aonach
Mor and Cairnwell
as well as -4°C on Cairngorm Mountains.
On the 3rd of January the high reaching anticyclone ZHYGIMONT
was located in the west of the British Isles
without having changed the position significantly, but under declining air
pressure that reached about 1035 hPa. The high pressure system ZHYGIMONT was
surrounded by prevailing northern winds in 500 hPa that were extending to
Central Europe, as well as a low pressure system over the Azores.
The weakening anticyclone ZHYGIMONT spread from large areas over the North
Atlantic, over Great Britain
to Western Europe. Especially the coastal
zones in France experienced
a sunny day with sunshine duration of 7 to 8 hours, like Quimper, Dinard/Pleurtuit
or Cherbourgh/Maupertus. It remained dry in France and most parts of England, except of low amounts of precipitation
in southern England, such as
Charlwood with 0.2 l/m² or Bournemouth with the same amount of rainfall due to
the low pressure system AXEL over the Norwegian Sea.
In the maritime sub polar air, temperatures rose up to 9°C in La Hague or 5°C
in Le Talut, whereas in centrally located regions of France,
temperatures dropped to values below the freezing point.
Surrounded by the low pressure system AXEL now over the Baltic Sea and an unnamed cyclone in the west, the
spatial expansion the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT was reduced until the 4th
of January. One center of the system was situated northwestern of Ireland, another one over the western coast of France.
Since the northern parts of the country were already influenced by the cold
front from the cyclone AXEL, regions like the Normandy remained without sunshine. In the North Atlantic
Sea, maximum air temperatures were
rising by a few degrees in comparison to the day before, so that La Hague
reported 10°C, Paris
6°C and Nancy/Essey 3°C.
On the 5th of January the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT covered an
area that included Great Britain
and Ireland, as well as the Gulf
of Biscaya.
The air pressure of the system remained unchanged at 1030 hPa. Nevertheless,
the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT was more and more incorporated by the high pressure
system ANGELIKA that was centered over Scandinavia
showing low temperatures up to -20°C in the 850 hPa level at a height of 1.5
km. The clear sky was leading to sunshine for 6 to 7 hours during the day and
frosty weather at night with cooling down to -8°C in Benson, -5°C in London and
also down to -8°C in the Scottish Highlands.
However, the anticyclone ZHYGIMONT weakened further, so that it could
not be analyzed on the meteorological maps of the Berliner Wetterkarte on the following
day. Therefore, on the 5th of January the high pressure system
appeared for the last time on our weather maps.
Geschrieben am
19.01.2017 von Natja Bublitz
Berliner
Wetterkarte: 05.01.2017
Pate: Yuri Zisser