Publication:
The weather of 1740, the coldest year in central Europe in 600 years

cris.virtualsource.author-orcidc035eab3-a541-4f5a-9fff-306ccd63e222
cris.virtualsource.author-orcidbcf80008-7ae6-4ffd-8141-7b6aeb63508c
cris.virtualsource.author-orcid9e39fc12-8d6b-4066-bc79-b6de2a74ffe9
dc.contributor.authorBrönnimann, Stefan
dc.contributor.authorJanusz Filipiak
dc.contributor.authorChen, Siyu
dc.contributor.authorPfister, Lucas
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-01T09:13:57Z
dc.date.available2024-11-01T09:13:57Z
dc.date.issued2024-10-07
dc.description.abstractThe winter of 1739/40 is known as one of the coldest winters in Europe since early instrumental measurements began. Many contemporary sources discuss the cold waves and compare the winter to that of 1708/09. It is less well known that the year 1740 remained cold until August and was again cold in October and that negative temperature anomalies were also found over Eurasia and North America. The 1739/40 cold season over northern mid-latitude land areas was perhaps the coldest in 300 years, and 1740 was the coldest year in central Europe in 600 years. New monthly global climate reconstructions allow us to address this momentous event in greater detail, while daily observations and weather reconstructions give insight into the synoptic situations. Over Europe, we find that the event was initiated by a strong Scandinavian blocking in early January, allowing the advection of continental cold air. From February until June, high pressure dominated over Ireland, arguably associated with frequent eastern Atlantic blocking. This led to cold-air advection from the cold northern North Atlantic. During the summer, cyclonic weather dominated over central Europe, associated with cold and wet air from the Atlantic. The possible role of oceanic influences (El Niño) and external forcings (eruption of Mount Tarumae in 1739) are discussed. While a possible El Niño event might have contributed to the winter cold spells, the eastern Atlantic blocking is arguably unrelated to either El Niño or the volcanic eruption. All in all, the cold year of 1740 marks one of the strongest, arguably unforced excursions in European temperature.
dc.description.sponsorshipInstitute of Geography
dc.description.sponsorshipInstitute of Geography
dc.description.sponsorshipOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)
dc.identifier.doi10.48620/17183
dc.identifier.publisherDOI10.5194/cp-20-2219-2024
dc.identifier.urihttps://boris-portal.unibe.ch/handle/20.500.12422/66371
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherEuropean Geosciences Union
dc.relation.ispartofClimate of the Past
dc.relation.issn1814-9324
dc.titleThe weather of 1740, the coldest year in central Europe in 600 years
dc.typearticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.endPage2235
oaire.citation.issue10
oaire.citation.startPage2219
oaire.citation.volume20
oairecerif.author.affiliationInstitute of Geography
oairecerif.author.affiliationInstitute of Geography
oairecerif.author.affiliationOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)
oairecerif.author.affiliation2Institute of Geography, Climatology
oairecerif.author.affiliation2Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)
oairecerif.author.affiliation2Institute of Geography
unibe.contributor.correspondingBrönnimann, Stefan
unibe.contributor.roleauthor
unibe.contributor.roleauthor
unibe.contributor.roleauthor
unibe.contributor.roleauthor
unibe.corresponding.affiliationInstitute of Geography
unibe.description.ispublishedpub
unibe.refereedtrue
unibe.subtype.articlejournal

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Name:
cp-20-2219-2024.pdf
Size:
8.26 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
File Type:
text
License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Content:
published

Collections