Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Severe Hail Climatology of Turkey

Abdullah Kahraman Graduate School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

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Şeyda Tilev-Tanriover Department of Meteorological Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

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Mikdat Kadioglu Department of Meteorological Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

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David M. Schultz Centre for Atmospheric Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

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Paul M. Markowski Department of Meteorology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

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Print Publication:
01 Jan 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-15-0337.1
Page(s):
337–346
Restricted access

Abstract

A climatology of severe hail (diameter equal to or exceeding approximately 1.5 cm) for Turkey is constructed from official severe weather reports from meteorological stations, newspaper archives, and Internet sources. The dataset consists of 1489 severe hail cases on 1107 severe hail days (days with at least one severe hail case) during 1925–2014. Severe hail was reported most often in the 1960s, followed by a decrease until the 2000s, and an ensuing increase in the past decade. Severe hail is most likely to occur in the afternoon and evening, and in spring and summer, particularly May and June. The geographical distribution implies that almost all of Turkey is prone to severe hailstorms. In 8.3% of the severe hail cases, very large hailstones (diameter equal to or exceeding approximately 4.5 cm) were observed.

Corresponding author address: Abdullah Kahraman, Graduate School of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul 34469, Turkey. E-mail: kahraman@meteogreen.com

Abstract

A climatology of severe hail (diameter equal to or exceeding approximately 1.5 cm) for Turkey is constructed from official severe weather reports from meteorological stations, newspaper archives, and Internet sources. The dataset consists of 1489 severe hail cases on 1107 severe hail days (days with at least one severe hail case) during 1925–2014. Severe hail was reported most often in the 1960s, followed by a decrease until the 2000s, and an ensuing increase in the past decade. Severe hail is most likely to occur in the afternoon and evening, and in spring and summer, particularly May and June. The geographical distribution implies that almost all of Turkey is prone to severe hailstorms. In 8.3% of the severe hail cases, very large hailstones (diameter equal to or exceeding approximately 4.5 cm) were observed.

Corresponding author address: Abdullah Kahraman, Graduate School of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, Istanbul 34469, Turkey. E-mail: kahraman@meteogreen.com
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