The rainfall regime and its uncertainty in Valencia and Larnaca

Abstract

Abstract. The Most Expected Rainfall Regime – MERR in a certain region is composed of various parameters regarding the annual rainfall regime in that region. The present study examines several parameters of the MERR, such as: the rainfall TOTAL, the Date of Accumulated Percentage-DAP, the Rainy Season Length-RSL, the Number of Rain-Spells-NRS, the Rain-Spell Yield-RSY, the ratio between Average and Median rainfall-AMED, the relationship between accumulated precipitation and the number of rain-spells and the Dry-Spell Distribution-DSD. Two stations at the two sides of the Mediterranean basin, Valencia and Larnaca, have been used to illustrate the distribution of the above parameters across the Mediterranean. The main conclusion of the study is that the rainfall regime at Larnaca is less uncertain as compared with the regime in Valencia. This is probably due to the fact that rainfalls are completely absent during the summer in Larnaca, which better suits the definition of a Mediterranean climate than that of Valencia.