Trends in heavy precipitation in the Czech Republic over 1961-2005

Trends in multiple characteristics of heavy precipitation over the area of the Czech Republic are evaluated using a new dataset form 175 rain-gauge stations covering the period 1961-2005. The temporal changes are generally more pronounced in the western than eastern part of the country Spatially coherent increasing trends are identified for all indices of heavy precipitation in winter in the. western region. the relative trend magnitudes being mostly between 20 and 30% over the 45 years Increasing but insignificant and spatially less coherent trends in heavy precipitation prevail also Ill summer Opposite trends occur in spring (when they are related to declines in seasonal precipitation totals) and the changes are spatially least coherent and insignificant in autumn (in spite of the increase in mean precipitation) The differences between winter at d Summer oil the one hand and the transition seasons oil the other highlight the need for Involving Sprint and autumn into studies of temporal changes of climatic Variables. to avoid simplified views It is also shown that trends in heavy precipitation at Prague-Klementinum, the most frequently analysed long-term station in the Czech Republic land the only one available in continental-scale analyses within the European Climate Assessment (ECA) project and related activities], are particularly unrepresentative for it wider area. The analysis partly supports all emerging, global picture of prevailing positivi: trends in precipitation extremes over (lie mid-latitudinal land areas of the Northern Hemisphere in winter However, the cut off between the western and eastern parts of the Czech Republic in many precipitation characteristics. including the trends in wintertime indices of precipitation extremes. may indicate that the pattern of changes is more complex and less coherent in eastern than in western Europe Copyright (C) 2008 Royal Meteorological Society