Usage of Atmospheric Sounding to Characterize the Meteorological Events on the Night of 23/24 August, 2022

At the end of summer, the episode of atmospheric instability in the Moldavia region, is attributed to the predominantly eastern circulation, which directed air masses from the Asian continent to Romania. This context is the result of the presence of a high-pressure area, located in northern Siberia and extended to north-eastern Europe. Romania was located in the flow of the eastern circulation, behind the warm front.

The emersion of unforeseen factors, as was the case with the transport of dust from the dry regions of Asia, due to background of a circulation from the east, or the specificities of the relief, make it difficult to forecast the phenomena associated with instability. In this sense, atmospheric soundings are among the most used tools in forecasting atmospheric instability. In this sense, we used atmospheric soundings estimated by the GFS and ECMWF numerical forecast models to analyze the atmosphere vertically. Also, the cross-section profiles drawn in the EUMeTrain application showed the differences between the west and the east of Moldavia and described the vertical atmosphere in the analysed interval.

The evolution of the convective episode was described through satellite images. The forecast models anticipated the instability but did not estimate the amounts of cumulative precipitation. The increase in the amount of precipitation was, among other things, attributed to the existence in the atmosphere of Moldavia of dust particles that acted as condensation nuclei that increased the amount of precipitation. High concentrations of dust were also noticed after consistent rain showers, as explained by Cloudnet data processed.

The analysed case was one of the most representative instability episodes for summer of 2022 in Moldavia and played a decisive role in the soil water reserve.

Here’s how air quality and changes in the atmosphere have a major impact on the environment. The notable frequency of detected electrical discharges, was probably also the result of the presence in the atmosphere of suspended dust particles (due to a natural air pollution process), driven towards the Moldavia region.