Synoptic and dynamic characteristics of selected deep depressions over Cyprus

Abstract. In this study, the spatial and temporal distributions of dynamic and synoptic characteristics of a selection of 32 deep baroclinic depressions have been investigated. The study covers the cold period months of November till March, in the period from 1 November 1986 to 31 March 2003. For the needs of the study, several synoptic characteristics of these depressions have been extracted. Also, several dynamic characteristics during the evolution of the depressions were studied: relative vorticity, divergence, vertical motion and a static stability parameter. The results are presented in the form of isobaric distributions over, three tropospheric isobaric levels, namely the lower 850 hPa, the middle 500 hPa and the upper 300 hPa.