Multidecadal daily hail time series for Switzerland from radar proxies and ERA-5 reanalysis

Abstract

Hailstorms regularly cause substantial damage and costs in Switzerland. Addressing this hail risk is challenging, especially in a changing climate, when hail occurence and frequency may change. Recent studies showed significant differences in interannual variability of hail occurrence north and south of the Alps in the last two decades (Barras et al. 2021, Nisi et al. 2018). However, this variability and its changes and drivers have not been analysed in a long-term approach. To do that a new daily hail time series for Northern and Southern Switzerland from 1959 to today is produced from radar proxies and ERA5 reanalysis data.