Theor Appl Climatol

DOI 10.1007/s00704-017-2044-6

ORIGINAL PAPER

Seasonal prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia

Ivana Tošić 1 & Milivoj B. Gavrilov 2 & Slobodan B. Marković 2 & Albert Ruman 3 &
Suzana Putniković 1

Received: 9 June 2016 / Accepted: 16 January 2017

# Springer-Verlag Wien 2017

Abstract Seasonal prevailing surface winds are analyzed in the that blow from west to east in the northern hemisphere, which
territory of Northern Serbia, using observational data from 12 are known as prevailing westerlies or westerlies (e.g., Palmén
meteorological stations over several decades. In accordance with and Newton 1969), and also from west to east in the middle
the general definition of prevailing wind, two special definitions of latitudes of the southern hemisphere (although circulation in
this term are used. The seasonal wind roses in 16 directions at each atmospheric systems is of opposite sign on the hemispheres).
station are analyzed. This study shows that the prevailing winds in In this case, the term “prevailing” is used to mark winds that
Northern Serbia have northwestern and southeastern directions. blow near the surface in the global space in an approximately
Circulation weather types over Serbia are presented in order to constant direction. Also, permanent easterly winds blow near
determine the connections between the synoptic circulations and the surface of the Hadley circulation cells, which are known as
prevailing surface winds. Three controlling pressure centers, i.e., the trade winds. Unlike winds in the Ferrel cells, trade winds are
the Mediterranean cyclone, Siberian high, and the Azores anticy- not prefaced with the term “prevailing”, but have prevailing
clone, appear as the most important large-scale factors that influ- characteristics. In this case, surface winds1 blow from approx-
ence the creation of the prevailing winds over Northern Serbia. imately constant directions, as a result of the general circulation
Beside the synoptic cause of the prevailing winds, it is noted that of the atmosphere (e.g., Holton 1972). These winds are more
the orography of the eastern Balkans has a major influence on the permanent over the ocean, because the influence of the water on
winds from the second quadrant. It was found that the frequencies their deformation is very small. Above the ocean, surface fric-
of circulation weather types are in agreement with those of the tion is minimal and the friction layer is at its thinnest (e.g., Stull
prevailing winds over Northern Serbia. 1988). These winds are significantly modified above the
continents, and they are often unrecognizable because they
are under the influence of different processes on the land,
such as terrain orography, surface composition, plant cover,
1 Introduction
and thermal conditions.
Ward (1919) presented maps of the prevailing winds in
The term “prevailing wind” is usually used when describing the
January and July over the USA. He explained the causes of
permanent winds of the Ferrel circulation cells on the surface
wind, which gave rise to the modern concept explored in this
paper. Recent research of prevailing winds has included region-
* Ivana Tošić al areas from polar regions (e.g., Stegall and Zhang 2012) to
itosic@[Link] tropical regions (e.g., Mahongo et al. 2011); there are other
studies that have been extended to the upper wind on the highest
1
University of Belgrade-Faculty of Physics, Institute of Meteorology, layers of the atmosphere (e.g., Prakash and Roper 1981).
Dobračina 16, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
2
Faculty of Sciences, Chair of Physical Geography, University of 1
Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, Novi Sad 21000, Serbia Surface wind is the wind blowing near the Earth’s surface. It is measured by
an anemometer (speed) or wind vane (wind direction) at a standard height of
3
Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia, Kneza Višeslava, 10 m above ground in an area where the distance between the instrument and
Belgrade 66, Serbia any obstruction is at least 10 times the height of the obstruction.
 I. Tošić et al.

Some workers have established the high correlation between The aim of this work is to analyze the seasonal prevailing
wind patterns and large-scale atmospheric conditions. Pandžić winds in Northern Serbia over a time period of 60 years, and
and Likso (2005) recognized synoptic-scale atmospheric con- to assess the impact of synoptic circulation types on the winds’
ditions over the northern Atlantic European region as the pri- behavior. Northern Serbia is very suitable for the study of
mary factor for the creation of wind field patterns along the prevailing winds, because this area is mostly flat, the obstacles
eastern Adriatic coast. Jiménez et al. (2009) performed a clas- for the air flow are minimal, the boundary layer is very thin,
sification of daily surface wind fields over the Comunidad Foral surface friction is very small, and all these factors minimally
de Navarra (CFN) region (northeastern Iberian Peninsula) into modify the local winds. Research about prevailing winds
wind pattern types. They associated eight pressure patterns with should complete information about the climate of Northern
the surface wind patterns (WPs) in order to understand the Serbia (Vojvodina) previously published by Gavrilov et al.
forcing mechanism of the different WPs. A characterization of (2011) about hail, Hrnjak et al. (2014) about aridity, Tošić
surface winds over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) was made by et al. (2014) about precipitation, and Gavrilov et al. (2015,
Lorente-Plazas et al. (2015). They explained the wind behavior 2016a) about temperatures. The remainder of this paper is
of various regions, characterized by the wind rose and wind organized as follows: Section 2 presents a description of the
speed histogram, as the response of each region to the main research area, the data are described in Section 3, the method-
circulation types affecting the IP. ology is defined in Section 4, the obtained results are present-
In Serbia, there are almost no publications analyzing pre- ed in Section 5, Section 6 will present a discussion of the
vailing winds, but there are some studies on the subject of findings, and conclusions are given in Section 7.
wind. One of the first published articles about wind in
Serbia was Küttner (1940) and relates to the local wind, the
Koshava. After that, there was a series of publications on the 2 Target region
Koshava wind; for example Milosavljević (1950),
Vukmirović (1985), Unkašević et al. (1998, 1999, 2007), The target region that is the subject of this study, Northern
Unkašević and Tošić (2006), and Romanić et al. (2015, Serbia, is shown in Fig. 1. This region is located in the south-
2016). In addition to publications on the Koshava wind, fur- eastern part of the Carpathian (Pannonian) Basin and covers a
ther studies can be found about winds over Serbia generally territory that includes the province of Vojvodina (Serbia),
(Dobrilović 1960; Sokolović et al. 1984; Gburčik et al. 2006). plains on both banks of the Sava river, and both banks of the
In addition, there are other studies that investigate winds in Danube from Belgrade downstream to its exit from Serbia.
nearby regions (e.g., Poje 1992; Klaić et al. 2009). The most distinctive landforms of this region are four

Fig. 1 Northern Serbia with geographical position, orography, and location of meteorological stations ([Link]
Seasonal prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia

mountains: Vršačke Mountains (641 m) in the southeast, 3 Data

Fruška Gora (539 m) in the southwest, Avala (511 m) in the
south, and Ram Hill (282 m) in the southeast. These moun- We analyze daily anemograph wind data recorded at the cli-
tains make up a small part of the surface area, while the rest of matological term at 7, 14, and 21 local time (LT) from 12
the region is flat and crisscrossed by the rivers Danube, Sava, meteorological stations in Northern Serbia in accordance with
Tisa, and Tamiš. the World Meteorological Organization (1979). These stations
As the local terrain obstacles for the air flow are weak in the are operated by the Republic Hydrometeorological Service of
area of Northern Serbia, wind features should reflect the charac- Serbia ([Link] The locations of the
teristics of large-scale atmospheric circulation stronger than the stations are shown in Fig. 1; their main characteristics are
local terrain influence. Thus, it is expected that the area is appro- given in Table 1. Ten of these stations are located at altitudes
priate for exploring prevailing local winds. On the other hand, of less than 100 m above sea level (a.s.l.), while the remaining
local impacts on the winds’ appearance will be more easily iden- two stations are at altitudes of 102 and 132 m a.s.l. Eleven
tified because there are only three clearly separated orographic stations are located in very representative places for observing
barriers, while the other impacts can be considered negligible. the surface wind, out of urban areas with the anemograph at an
It has long been considered that the target region of interest altitude of 10 m absolute ground level (a.g.l.). The anemo-
is under the influence of undulations of the polar front. When graph in Belgrade is at an altitude of 24 m a.g.l., in order to
the polar front comes into this area over the Atlantic, and reduce the impact of urban facilities on observation wind.
Western and Central Europe without retention in the Alps, in Wind data were measured by anemographs of two types:
Northern Serbia, there are incursions of cold fronts from the Fuess and Lambrecht. The data contained measurement error
north/northwest, which reduce the surface temperature, bring- inherent in these instruments, which were previously calibrat-
ing precipitation and northwesterly winds (e.g., Radinović ed in an accredited meteorological laboratory. A quality con-
1981). If the Polar front is retained in the Alps area, cyclonic trol check of hourly wind direction and hourly wind speed was
developments usually start in the West Mediterranean Basin, passed. The missing hourly data were interpolated only from
mostly in the Gulf of Genoa. These processes mainly lead to the neighboring hourly data at the same station.
the movement of warm fronts into Northern Serbia. These In order to obtain the prevailing wind, we used two wind
incursions usually precede winds from the southern quadrants, datasets: wind direction in degrees and wind speed in ms−1.
which are stronger if a larger pressure difference exists be- For both wind datasets, a time series of maximum length pe-
tween the Mediterranean cyclone and the anticyclone over riods was used, from the beginning to the end year of the
the European part of Russia. These processes have long been observation wind (Table 1). At 11 stations, the periods of
described (Gburčik 1960; Radinović 1962; Trigo et al. 2002; observation are longer than 50 years. Although at one station,
Horvath et al. 2008). Occasionally, this area comes under the wind measurements had been performed for shorter periods
influence of the ridges of the Azores/Atlantic or the Siberian (20 years in Bela Crkva), we thought it appropriate to include
anticyclone. In this case, stable weather usually occurs with- this station in the analysis in order to cover as much territory
out precipitation (Putniković et al. 2016), mainly calm with as possible. As shown in Table 1, datasets were completed for
very high temperatures in summer and very low temperatures all terms at nine stations over the entire period, while at the
in winter (Unkašević and Tošić 2013). three other stations, the missing data were less than 4%. The

Table 1 List of meteorological

stations with abbreviations (Ab), No Ab Station Latitude Longitude Altitude (m) Period Missing data (%)
latitude, longitude and altitude,
period of observation, and 1 BE Bečej 45° 37′ 20° 02′ 84 1949–2009 0.0
missing data 2 BC Bela Crkva 44° 54′ 21° 25′ 90 1995–2014 0.0
3 KI Kikinda 45° 51′ 20° 28′ 81 1949–2014 0.0
4 BG Belgrade 44° 48′ 20° 28′ 132 1939–2014 0.0
5 NS Novi Sad 45° 20′ 19° 51′ 86 1949–2014 0.0
6 PA Palić 46° 06′ 19° 46′ 102 1949–2013 3.1
7 SO Sombor 45° 46′ 19° 09′ 87 1965–2014 4.0
8 SM Sremska Mitrovica 44° 58′ 19° 38′ 82 1949–2001 1.9
9 SU Surčin 44° 47′ 20° 16′ 73 1966–1997 0.0
10 VG Veliko Gradište 44° 45′ 21° 31′ 82 1965–2014 0.0
11 VR Vršac 45° 07′ 21° 18′ 83 1965–2014 0.0
12 ZR Zrenjanin 45° 24′ 20° 21′ 80 1966–2014 0.0
 I. Tošić et al.

missing values were not estimated, since the goal of this study Classification of CWTs and their seasonal frequencies over
was the climatological analysis of the prevailing winds in Serbia were investigated in Putniković et al. (2016). Applying
Northern Serbia. the objective weather typing system of Jenkinson and Collison
To obtain the circulation weather types (CWT), daily (1977), which is based on the Lamb types (Lamb 1972), daily
values of the sea level pressure (SLP) for the period 1961– circulation was determined by the strength, direction, and vor-
2010 were retrieved from the National Centers for ticity of geostrophic flow. These rules allow 26 CWTs, which
Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric are grouped into three main groups: eight pure directional
Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis (Kalnay et al. 1996). In types—northerly (N), northeasterly (NE), easterly (E), south-
order to obtain a view of the synoptic situation defined by each easterly (SE), southerly (S), southwesterly (SW), westerly
CWT, the location between 32.5–52.5° N and 5–35° E was (W), and northwesterly (NW); two pure types based on the
selected, because this position best describes the weather types severity of the geostrophic vorticity—cyclonic (C) and anti-
over Serbia (Putniković et al. 2016). cyclonic (A); and 16 hybrid types (eight cyclonic and eight
anticyclonic for each direction). To simplify the analysis, each
of the 16 hybrid types was incorporated with a weight of 0.5
into the corresponding pure directional and vorticity types
4 Methods (Trigo and DaCamara 2000). Therefore, only 10 main CWTs
were retained: eight pure directional and two vorticity types,
In this study, two research steps were applied. In the first step, cyclonic (C) and anticyclonic (A). Composite maps of each
after considering the general definition of prevailing wind, CWT were constructed using the SLP during the period 1961–
special definitions for this term were derived, and are ex- 2010 for all seasons. The SLP fields over southeastern Europe
plained in the following two paragraphs. These definitions were classified and related to the surface circulations over
have helped to determine the prevailing winds in Northern Serbia in order to compare the frequency of wind and weather
Serbia quantitatively. In the second step, we assessed the in- types, and to obtain an explanation of the occurrence of the
fluence of the synoptic conditions on wind climatology using prevailing winds.
the characterization of the atmospheric circulation over Serbia
proposed by Putniković et al. (2016).
Although the term “prevailing wind” has an implicitly clear 5 Results
meaning, it does not have a quantitative definition, despite the
very long history of use of this term. Therefore, for the pur- Figures 2–5 show mean seasonal wind roses in 16 elementary
poses of this study, the following definition of the term from directions with intervals of 22.5° in the percentage with mean
the Glossary (Huschke 2000) will be used: “Prevailing wind wind speeds at 14 LT, as the maximum compared to 7 and 21
direction or prevailing wind is most frequently observed dur- LT. Comparing wind roses for 7, 14 and 21 LT, similar results
ing a given period. The periods most frequently used are the are obtained. In addition to making it easier to analyze our
observational day, month, season, and year. Methods for de- results, Tables 2–5 show the frequency of winds in four quad-
termination vary from a simple count of periodic observations rants obtained as the sum of four elementary directions.
to the computation of a wind rose.”
In accordance with the previous general definition of pre- 5.1 Seasonal analysis
vailing wind, here we will use two specific definitions of this
term. In the first definition, the maximum value of the fre- Wind roses during the spring are presented in Fig. 2. As can be
quency of the observed wind direction in one of the four seen, there is no prevailing wind in Palić (PA), at the north-
quadrants, which is obtained by calculating the sum of all ernmost station. In Sombor (SO), the prevailing wind is from
frequencies in quadrant, is considered to be the primary pre- the north. At the remaining 10 stations, winds from the second
vailing wind per quadrant (PPQ). The second largest value is and forth quadrant prevailed. Thus, it can be considered that
considered as the secondary prevailing wind per quadrant northwestern (NW) and southeastern (SE) winds prevailed in
(SPQ). The four quadrants are defined in degrees, as follows: Northern Serbia during the spring. Furthermore, Fig. 2 shows
I (0–90°), II (90–180°), III (180–270°), and IV (270– that the prevailing wind is associated with the maximum wind
360°). In the second definition, the maximum value of speed in VG, VR, BC, BG, SO, NS, and SM. The SE winds at
the frequency of the observed wind direction in one of stations BC, VG, and VR are influenced by orography. The
the 16 elementary directions (interval is 22.5°) of the Vršačke Mountains, as the highest in the target region, modi-
wind rose is considered to be the prevailing wind per fied winds from the east in VR, enhancing S-SE winds. It is
(elementary) direction (PPD). For all definitions, the supposed that there is an influence of the high orographic
mean seasonal wind roses in 16 directions at each of the barriers out of the target region (Carpathian Mountains in
12 stations during periods from Table 1 were analyzed. the E and SE, and Homolje Mountains in the SE) on the SE
Seasonal prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia

Fig. 2 Spring wind roses in 16

directions and intensity at 14:00
LT for the meteorological stations
listed in Table 1. Colors in wind
roses correspond to wind speeds

Wind Speeds in m/s

W S ≥ 15

10 ≤ W S < 15
5 ≤ W S < 10

2 ≤ WS < 5
0 ≤ WS < 2

Table 2 Frequency of spring wind per quadrant in 16 directions and calm (%) for 12 meteorological stations at 14:00 LT
Quad. Dir. BE BC BG KI NS PA SO SM SU VG VR ZR
22.5 2.9 0.1 4.2 5.1 3.2 4.9 3.8 1.4 2.7 1.7 3.8 3.1
45.0 4.6 5.7 3.5 5.8 4.4 6.3 4.0 3.8 2.6 1.4 2.9 2.5
I
67.5 1.6 0.1 2.3 2.2 1.7 3.1 3.2 3.1 2.1 1.1 1.9 2.8
90.0 5.5 2.3 3.1 2.6 5.3 4.5 4.5 12.7 6.0 2.2 1.3 3.3
Sum I 14.6 8.2 13.1 15.7 14.6 18.8 15.5 21.0 13.4 6.4 9.9 11.7
112.5 3.2 2.6 10.2 2.7 6.1 4.7 5.7 6.7 8.4 24.9 2.3 5.2
135.0 11.9 28.9 9.3 8.0 14.8 8.3 6.4 10.0 9.0 9.3 7.7 9.0
II
157.5 4.8 1.4 6.0 7.9 3.2 3.7 4.2 1.9 3.9 2.6 13.0 8.7
180.0 6.2 4.0 3.5 8.7 3.7 7.5 6.5 4.7 7.8 1.5 11.5 7.0
Sum II 26.1 36.9 29.0 27.4 27.8 24.2 22.8 23.3 29.1 38.3 34.5 29.9
202.5 3.2 1.1 2.5 4.3 1.4 6.7 3.4 2.0 2.2 0.8 4.2 5.1
225.0 7.3 8.2 2.7 7.0 4.8 8.7 6.6 5.3 4.0 2.1 2.9 4.6
III
247.5 5.8 0.8 6.4 5.7 2.4 6.5 5.8 3.5 2.9 3.7 4.4 6.5
270.0 9.1 7.0 9.9 7.0 10.0 6.5 8.3 11.6 11.9 7.5 8.8 6.7
Sum III 25.4 17.1 21.5 23.9 18.6 28.4 27.1 22.4 21.0 14.1 20.3 22.9
292.5 3.7 2.2 9.2 4.8 6.5 4.2 4.8 7.6 6.6 11.0 6.5 9.8
IV 315.0 12.5 4.6 11.1 11.0 15.2 9.4 7.6 13.1 10.5 15.2 5.6 9.7
337.5 5.0 1.8 7.8 6.8 5.0 5.0 9.4 5.3 6.5 8.2 10.5 5.4
0.0 10.8 2.9 5.4 9.5 10.0 8.3 13.2 5.8 9.9 4.2 9.5 9.9
Sum IV 32.0 11.5 33.5 32.1 36.7 26.9 35.0 31.8 33.5 38.6 32.1 34.8
Sum 00-360 98.1 93.7 97.1 99.1 97.7 98.3 97.4 98.5 97.0 97.4 96.8 99.3
Calm 1.9 6.3 2.9 0.9 2.3 1.7 2.6 1.5 3.0 2.6 3.2 0.7
The primary prevailing wind per quadrant (PPQ) is bolded and framed. The secondary prevailing wind per quadrant (SPQ) is bolded. The prevailing
wind per direction (PPD) is framed
 I. Tošić et al.

wind at BC, VG, and VR. Fruška Gora as an orographic bar- compared to spring, with the maximum value of 8.8% in BC.
rier channel winds in the longitudinal direction in SM. During the summer, PPQ is noted in the fourth quadrant at all
Table 2 shows the frequency of the mean spring wind from 12 stations (Table 3). SPQ occurs at seven stations in the third
16 directions and calm for 12 stations in Northern Serbia. quadrant, at three stations in the second quadrant, and at one
During the spring, values of calms ranged from 0.7% in ZR station in the first quadrant (Table 3). In addition, PPD was
to 3.2% in VR, with the maximum value of 6.3% recorded in recorded at all stations in the fourth quadrant (Table 3). Based
BC. PPQ appears at nine stations in the fourth quadrant (north- on Fig. 3 and Table 3, it can be concluded that NW winds
west wind), at two stations in the second quadrant (southeast prevail in Northern Serbia in summer.
wind), and at one station in the third quadrant (southwest SE winds dominated in the majority of stations during the
wind). SPQ is the opposite of the primary prevailing wind. It autumn (Fig. 4) in Northern Serbia. At 10 stations, the pre-
is observed at eight stations in the second quadrant, and at two vailing wind is associated with the maximum wind speed. It is
stations in the third and fourth quadrants. The NW and SE not valid for VR and SU, similar to spring (Fig. 2). Comparing
winds during the spring are prevailing winds in Northern the wind roses for BE and ZR in autumn (Fig. 4) and spring
Serbia, since the wind from the fourth quadrant is recorded (Fig. 2), it can be seen that they have similar characteristics but
in 11 cases and from the second quadrant in 10 cases. PPD without a northern direction in autumn. A wind rose for PA has
was recorded in eight cases from the fourth quadrant, in three homogeneous frequencies, with dominant NW and SE direc-
cases from the second quadrant, and in one case from the third tions. In SO, the prevailing winds are from the north. The
quadrant, while it was not recorded at all from the first Vršačke Mountains enhanced S-SE winds in VR. The
quadrant. Carpathian Mountains and Homolje Mountains channeled
The wind roses during the summer (Fig. 3) show winds SE winds in BC and VG. The Avala Hill prevented winds
predominately from the northwest. The prevailing wind at from the south in BG.
nine stations is related to the maximum wind speed. In VG, The frequency of the mean autumn wind from 16 directions
the secondary prevailing wind is linked to the strongest wind. and calm for all stations are presented in Table 4. The maxi-
One more exception is VR, where the influence of orography mum value of calm is recorded in BC (12.7%). PPQ appears at
is evident. The influence of high orographic barriers out of the 11 stations in the second quadrant and once in the fourth
target region (Carpathian Mountains, and Homolje quadrant. SPQ occurs at nine stations in the fourth quadrant,
Mountains) can be seen on the SE wind at BC and VG. and at one station in the first, second, and third quadrants. PPD
From Table 3, we can see that somewhat higher values of was recorded at nine stations in the second quadrant and at one
calms from 1.2% in ZR to 4.4% in SO are recorded in summer station in the first, third, and fourth quadrants. It can thus be

Fig. 3 As in Fig. 2, but for the

summer season
Seasonal prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia

Table 3 As in Table 2 but for summer

Quad. Dir. BE BC BG KI NS PA SO SM SU VG VR ZR
22.5 2.0 0.3 5.2 5.1 2.3 3.7 3.5 1.4 11.7 1.8 4.1 3.1
45.0 5.6 6.2 3.9 4.9 4.4 4.7 3.6 3.8 3.7 1.8 2.5 2.7
I
67.5 1.5 0.2 3.0 2.3 1.8 2.4 2.4 2.1 2.8 0.6 2.7 2.0
90.0 4.2 2.1 2.6 2.6 4.8 4.2 2.9 9.2 5.6 1.6 2.3 2.6
Sum I 13.3 8.8 14.7 14.9 13.3 15.0 12.4 16.5 23.8 5.8 11.6 10.4
112.5 2.2 0.6 5.8 1.9 5.0 3.4 3.2 5.1 4.2 15.3 1.8 4.1
135.0 7.5 20.4 6.1 7.3 11.3 5.2 5.4 8.8 5.7 6.8 3.9 5.7
II
157.5 3.4 0.8 5.0 5.9 2.6 2.2 4.1 2.4 2.6 1.8 7.9 5.6
180.0 6.3 3.2 2.9 6.9 3.5 6.7 6.2 5.0 6.0 1.3 9.0 7.0
Sum II 19.4 25.0 19.8 22.0 22.4 17.5 18.9 21.3 18.5 25.2 22.6 22.4
202.5 3.0 0.5 2.0 2.8 1.4 6.7 2.7 1.9 1.6 0.9 4.6 3.9
225.0 7.3 9.3 2.1 5.9 3.8 9.1 5.4 6.4 3.4 1.7 3.8 4.1
III
247.5 5.1 1.3 5.7 5.2 2.7 5.7 5.0 3.6 3.5 4.0 5.9 6.9
270.0 11.6 11.2 10.0 8.5 11.0 9.2 7.9 13.3 12.4 9.9 10.8 9.2
Sum III 27.0 22.3 19.8 22.4 18.9 30.7 21.0 25.2 20.9 16.5 25.1 24.1
292.5 4.7 3.2 12.1 6.7 6.8 6.8 5.9 8.8 7.5 13.7 9.5 12.6
IV 315.0 17.5 28.4 12.5 13.9 18.7 11.8 11.1 15.1 15.0 20.7 6.7 11.9
337.5 4.9 1.5 10.7 8.5 4.9 6.3 11.9 5.1 7.3 9.2 11.8 6.6
0.0 10.4 2.0 6.7 10.3 12.0 9.2 14.4 6.0 3.6 5.9 9.7 10.8
Sum IV 37.5 35.1 42.0 39.4 42.4 34.1 43.3 35.0 33.4 49.5 37.7 41.9
Sum 00-360 97.2 91.2 96.3 98.7 97.0 97.3 95.6 98.0 96.6 97.0 97 98.8
Calm 2.8 8.8 3.7 1.3 3.0 2.7 4.4 2.0 3.4 3.0 3 1.2

concluded that the winds from the second quadrant prevail in SM is from the east, due to longitudinal extension of Fruška
during the autumn in Northern Serbia. Gora. There is no wind from the south in NS and BG, due to
The winter wind roses in Fig. 5 show winds predominately the influence of Fruška Gora and Avala, respectively. The
from the southeast. At all stations, except VR, the prevailing strongest SE winds are observed in VR, since the Vršačke
winds are associated with the maximum wind speeds. The Mountains enhanced S-SE winds. The Carpathian
wind rose for PA has homogeneous frequencies, with the Mountains and Homolje Mountains channeled SE winds in
dominant NW direction. In winter, as for all the seasons, the BC and VG. At nine stations, winds from the second quadrant
winds are from the north in SO. The prevailing wind direction prevailed.

Fig. 4 As in Fig. 2, but for the

autumn season
 I. Tošić et al.

Table 4 As in Table 2 but for autumn

Quad. Dir. BE BC BG KI NS PA SO SM SU VG VR ZR
22.5 3.1 0.1 4.3 4.2 2.1 4.1 3.5 1.3 2.8 1.3 3.5 3.1
45.0 5.4 3.8 3.4 5.0 3.8 5.7 3.4 2.8 3.5 1.4 2.4 2.1
I
67.5 1.9 0.3 2.5 1.9 1.7 3.3 2.8 3.5 3.4 1.4 2.0 2.0
90.0 5.7 2.6 4.0 2.9 6.0 4.7 4.5 17.2 6.5 1.9 0.9 2.5
Sum I 16.1 6.8 14.2 14.0 13.6 17.8 14.2 25.1 16.2 6.0 8.8 9.7
112.5 3.9 1.6 12.0 3.1 8.5 5.5 6.4 8.8 8.4 29.2 1.7 6.5
135.0 15.8 30.3 12.0 11.9 17.1 9.6 7.1 10.3 9.5 11.5 9.3 11.9
II
157.5 6.2 1.4 7.8 11.3 3.8 4.4 6.2 1.8 3.8 2.4 14.3 14.0
180.0 6.5 4.3 3.4 9.8 3.8 8.6 7.2 4.3 7.3 1.3 16.5 7.8
Sum II 32.4 37.6 35.2 36.1 33.2 28.1 26.9 25.2 29.0 44.4 41.8 40.2
202.5 2.1 0.5 1.9 4.7 1.3 6.8 4.0 1.9 2.2 0.4 5.0 3.7
225.0 6.8 8.7 1.8 5.4 4.1 7.9 5.5 5.2 3.4 2.1 2.8 3.3
III
247.5 4.5 1.3 5.6 4.9 2.5 5.1 5.1 3.5 2.5 4.0 3.5 5.1
270.0 8.4 8.1 8.8 5.8 9.8 5.7 7.3 12.2 12.3 8.2 7.0 6.4
Sum III 21.8 18.6 18.1 20.8 17.7 25.5 21.9 22.8 20.4 14.7 18.3 18.5
292.5 3.3 2.0 9.3 4.8 6.7 4.9 4.7 6.6 6.0 9.3 6.1 9.3
IV 315.0 11.8 19.8 8.1 9.4 13.2 8.8 7.7 11.2 9.4 11.9 4.7 8.6
337.5 4.0 0.5 6.6 6.0 4.4 4.7 8.4 3.1 4.9 4.4 7.6 4.6
0.0 7.1 2.0 3.6 7.1 7.2 6.9 10.1 3.2 7.2 2.9 7.7 6.9
Sum IV 26.2 24.3 27.6 27.3 31.5 25.3 30.9 24.1 27.5 28.5 26.1 29.4
Sum 00-360 96.5 87.3 95.1 98.2 96.0 96.7 93.9 97.2 93.1 93.6 95.0 97.8
Calm 3.5 12.7 4.9 1.8 4.0 3.3 6.1 2.8 6.9 6.4 5.0 2.2

According to Table 5, the highest percentage of calms is re- third quadrants (Table 5). It can be concluded that the prevailing
corded in winter, from 2.3% in KI to 12.1% in VG. The maxi- winds in Northern Serbia have a SE direction in winter.
mum value of 19.8% is recorded in BC. PPQ was observed at
eight stations from the second quadrant, at three stations from the 5.2 Synoptic conditions
fourth quadrant, and once from the first and third quadrants
(Table 5). SPQ occurs at nine stations in the fourth quadrant The impact of the synoptic conditions on the wind direction in
(NW winds) and at three stations in the second quadrant (SE Northern Serbia was assessed using the CWTs described by
winds). PPD was recorded in eight cases in the second quadrant, Putniković et al. (2016), which summarized the synoptic con-
in two cases from the fourth quadrant, and once from the first and ditions over Serbia in 10 CWTs for each season. The results

Fig. 5 As in Fig. 2, but for the

winter season
Seasonal prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia

Table 5 As in Table 2 but for winter

Quad. Dir. BE BC BG KI NS PA SO SM SU VG VR ZR
22.5 3.4 0.1 3.7 5.4 2.1 5.0 4.3 1.0 2.9 1.3 4.4 3.5
45.0 5.6 4.1 2.7 5.0 4.3 6.3 3.5 4.4 4.5 1.5 3.4 2.9
I
67.5 2.3 0.1 2.2 2.0 2.7 3.6 3.6 6.3 2.5 2.0 2.7 2.8
90.0 4.9 2.8 2.3 2.9 7.0 4.9 4.1 21.9 4.7 3.0 1.0 2.8
Sum I 16.2 7.1 10.9 15.3 16.1 19.8 15.5 33.6 14.6 7.8 11.5 12.0
112.5 3.2 2.2 11.5 2.8 8.2 5.3 6.0 7.2 7.8 27.5 1.4 6.4
135.0 13.7 26.4 13.0 10.1 14.7 7.8 6.8 4.6 10.1 11.7 9.4 12.0
II
157.5 5.7 1.1 7.0 11.2 3.0 4.6 5.8 0.8 4.2 2.9 11.8 13.8
180.0 4.7 3.6 3.1 9.6 1.8 7.2 7.5 1.9 6.5 0.8 16.9 5.2
Sum II 27.3 33.3 34.6 33.7 27.7 24.9 26.1 14.5 28.6 42.9 39.5 37.4
202.5 2.5 0.4 2.3 3.9 0.9 6.1 5.2 1.0 2.9 0.5 6.2 3.2
225.0 7.4 5.6 2.1 5.9 2.9 8.1 5.5 3.2 3.6 1.6 2.8 2.2
III
247.5 5.6 0.8 6.3 5.3 2.2 6.3 4.6 3.1 2.5 5.9 4.0 5.6
270.0 9.6 5.4 11.3 6.1 12.7 5.7 5.8 15.5 11.6 8.4 6.5 7.5
Sum III 25.1 12.2 22.0 21.2 18.7 26.2 21.1 22.8 20.6 16.4 19.5 18.5
292.5 3.4 1.9 10.2 4.8 8.4 4.9 4.1 7.5 6.8 8.2 4.6 10.1
IV 315.0 10.9 22.2 8.0 8.5 13.4 8.7 6.1 11.2 9.7 7.7 3.9 8.0
337.5 4.7 0.5 4.8 6.3 4.4 5.1 9.3 3.3 5.1 3.1 6.5 5.5
0.0 8.3 3.0 3.8 7.9 5.8 6.2 10.7 3.1 6.6 1.8 7.9 5.9
Sum IV 27.3 27.6 26.8 27.5 32.0 24.9 30.2 25.1 28.2 20.8 22.9 29.5
Sum 00-360 95.9 80.2 94.3 97.7 94.5 95.8 92.9 96.0 92.0 87.9 93.4 97.4
Calm 4.1 19.8 3.7 2.3 5.5 4.2 7.1 4.0 8.0 12.1 6.6 2.6

for NW and SE types for all seasons are presented in Fig. 6. winds in autumn and winter. In spring, the prevailing winds in
For the northwestern (NW) type (Fig. 6, left), the synoptic Northern Serbia are from the fourth and second quadrants.
situation is characterized by a depression over Northeastern There exist stations with similar wind roses, indepen-
Europe, with high pressure over the Azores (Putniković et al. dent of the season (e.g., BC, in SO for all the seasons
2016). This large-scale atmospheric distribution of atmospher- winds are from the north); others that are highly sensitive
ic pressure promotes advection of NW air over Serbia. The to the seasonality (e.g. ZR and BE); and there are also
center of the cyclone is stationary over time, but the center of uniform wind roses, where the predominant direction is
the anticyclone shifts toward the Iberian Peninsula in autumn less clear (e.g. PA). The wind roses for summer (winter)
and winter compared to spring and summer. The relative sea- are similar to those in spring (autumn).
sonal frequencies of all circulation types during 1961–2010 It was found that the prevailing winds are associated with
are presented in Table 6. The highest frequency of the “north- the maximum wind speeds. The maximum values of calms are
ern” circulation types is noted in summer (Table 6). recorded in BC in all seasons. This could be because this
In the case of the southeastern (SE) type (Fig. 6, right), high station is somehow tucked in/protected between the Vršačke
pressure lies over Eastern Europe, and low pressure dominates Mountains in the north, Ram Hill in the south and the
in the central or western Mediterranean. These two synoptic Carpathian Mountains in the east.
systems, together with the orography of the eastern Balkans, The primary cause for the occurrence of wind over
are the main drivers of E/SE/S wind in the southeastern part of Northern Serbia is the synoptic situation, which determines
the Carpathian Basin, known as Koshava (Romanić et al. the dominant airflow. In summer, according to the wind roses,
2015). The only exception is summer, when there is no such the NW winds prevailed. In addition, there is a wind from the
distinct high pressure over Eastern Europe. As a consequence, north at several stations. Northern sector winds, known as
the frequency of the “southern” circulation types is lowest in Etesian winds, are one of the most persistent localized winds
the summer (Table 6). in the world, being the dominant wind regime during summer
(Anagnostopoulou et al. 2014). Poulos et al. (1997) suggested
that one of the dynamical mechanisms that causes Etesian
winds is the extension of the Azores high pressure system over
6 Discussion Central and Southeastern Europe, and the extension of the
monsoonal deep Asiatic Low toward eastern Mediterranean.
Frequency analysis of mean seasonal winds revealed that the From Table 6, it can be seen that the “northern” types
prevailing winds in Northern Serbia have NW and SE direc- prevailed in summer. The frequency of the NW, N, and NE
tions. It was found that the NW winds prevailed in summer, type is 38.1%, while the frequency of the S and SE types is
while the winds from the second quadrant are the prevailing lowest in the summer. The reason for this lowest frequency
I. Tošić et al.
 Seasonal prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia

ƒFig. 6 Long-term mean of the reanalysis data of the sea level pressure orography on the other stations is difficult to see, while that
with geostrophic wind for NW (left) and SE (right) circulation weather of the substrate is negligible because the area is very flat.
types that affected Serbia in: spring (a, b), summer (c, d), autumn (e, f), and
winter (g, h) during the period 1961–2010. Territory of Serbia is shaded
The annual analysis of prevailing winds in northern Serbia
shows great similarity with seasonal results, as shown in the
preliminary results of Gavrilov et al. (2016b). Our results are in
agreement with those obtained for some other regions in
can be found in the smaller thermal differences between the
Europe. Pandžić and Likso (2005) recognized synoptic-scale
land and Mediterranean Sea.
atmospheric conditions as the primary factor for the wind field
In spring, as the transitional season, the NW and SE winds
patterns along the eastern Adriatic coast. They noted that some
are prevailing winds in Northern Serbia. The frequency of the
secondary factors are land-sea discontinuity and orography,
“northern” types (NW and N) is approximately equal to that of
including the influence of the Alps mountain chain, especially
the “southern” types (SE and S). For the majority of stations,
during the Bora winds. Jiménez et al. (2009) analyzed surface
the maximum wind speed is recorded for the SE winds, al-
winds in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula (CFN), and found
though NW winds prevailed at some stations.
that patterns with northwestern circulations are dominant
In winter and autumn, according to the wind roses, the SE
(60.9%) followed by southeastern ones (30.5%), showing the
winds prevailed. In addition, there is a wind from the south at
strong influence of orography over surface circulation, since the
two stations (VR and SU). Two of the CWTs (SE and S types),
valleys in this region are mainly directed NW–SE. In addition,
with a frequency of about 20% in winter and autumn, favor
they found that the relationships between the synoptic and the
winds from the second quadrant in Northern Serbia. The ther-
regional circulation were consistent enough to understand the
mal high over Eastern Europe enhances the SE winds in all
basic forcing mechanisms of different wind patterns and their
seasons except summer.
influence on the CFN regional climate.
Orography has an important influence on the wind direc-
Compared to Jiménez et al. (2009) and Pandžić and Likso
tion. Two isolated mountains in Vojvodina channeled winds
(2005), our target region is lowland, with three isolated oro-
from the second quadrant. The spring wind rose patterns
graphic barriers, which are surrounded by mountainous re-
(Fig. 2) show that winds in BC, VG, VR, and SM are influ- gions to the E, S, and W with an indirect influence of the sea.
enced by the local topography (Fig. 1). The Koshava wind has
a narrow direction distribution in Bela Crkva (125–145°) and
Veliko Gradište (100–150°). Our results for Veliko Gradište
are in accordance with those obtained by Romanić et al.
7 Conclusions
(2015). The directions of the winds near Vršac in the second
quadrant (Koshava) shift to the south, and the maximum wind Prevailing winds have been analyzed in Northern Serbia over
speed (48 ms−1 on February 11, 1987) was recorded in the
all seasons, using observed data from 12 meteorological sta-
region at this station (Romanić et al. 2016), because it is clos-
tions. A special definition of prevailing winds was derived to
est to the highest mountain (Vršačke Mountains) in the area. In determine the prevailing winds in Serbia quantitatively. It was
the case of Sremska Mitrovica, winds from the second quad-
found that the prevailing winds have NW and SE directions
rant are shifted to the east, because this station is located south
during spring in Northern Serbia. In addition, NW winds
of the Fruška Gora mountain, which extends strictly longitu- prevailed in summer, and SE winds in autumn and winter.
dinally over a length of about 50 km. The influence of
The prevailing winds were found to be associated with the
maximum wind speeds.
In order to determine the synoptic cause of the prevailing
Table 6 Relative frequencies (%) of circulation weather types (CWTs)
winds, the SLP fields over southeastern Europe were classi-
during the period 1961–2010 for spring, summer, autumn, and winter
fied and related to the surface circulations over Serbia. It was
CWT Spring Summer Autumn Winter found that the frequency of circulation weather types is in
agreement with that of the prevailing winds over Serbia. The
A 19.3 25.2 31.5 26.2
C 18.7 11.4 11.5 16.6 highest frequency of the “northern” circulation types is re-
E 8.4 15.1 12.6 13.1 corded in summer; for “southern” types (S and SE), in autumn
NE 9.9 21.3 7.7 5.9 and winter. Beside the synoptic cause of the prevailing winds,
N 7.5 12.3 4.3 3.4
NW 6.9 4.5 2.2 3.2
it was noted that the orography of the eastern Balkans has a
W 7.0 2.3 3.6 5.2 major influence on winds from the second quadrant, known as
SW 6.1 1.8 7.4 6.3 the Koshava wind.
S 7.2 2.3 8.1 7.1
SE 9.2 3.7 11.1 13.1
For future work, an annual analysis of the prevailing winds
should be performed using climatological data of wind, geo-
A anticyclonic, C cyclonic, E, NE, N, SW etc.—directional types morphological records, and numerical simulations.
 I. Tošić et al.

Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Serbian Ministry Mahongo BS, Francis J, Osima SE (2011) Wind patterns of coastal Tanzania:
of Science, Education and Technological Development, under Grants No. their variability and trends. Western Indian Ocean J Mar 10:107–120
176013 and 176020. Authors wish to acknowledge the usage of the wind Milosavljević M (1950) Physical characteristics of winds in Belgrade.
roses software provided by Daniel Pereira. The authors highly appreciate Scientific Book, Belgrade, Serbia, pp 67 (in Serbian)
comments and suggestions of reviewers that led to a considerable im- Palmén E, Newton CW (1969) Atmospheric circulation systems. In: Their
provement of this article. structural and physical interpretation. Academic Press, New York, p 606
Pandžić K, Likso T (2005) Eastern Adriatic typical wind field patterns
and large-scale atmospheric conditions. Int J Climatol 25:81–98
Poje D (1992) Wind persistence in Croatia. Int J Climatol 12:569–586
References Prakash MD, Roper RG (1981) Prevailing wind in the meteor zone (80–
100 km) over Atlanta and its association with midwinter stratospher-
Anagnostopoulou C, Zanis P, Katragkou E et al (2014) Recent past and ic warming. J Atmos Sci 38:182–188
future patterns of the Etesian winds based on regional scale climate Poulos S, Drakopoulos P, Collins M (1997) Seasonal variability in sea
model simulations. Clim Dyn 42:1819–1836 surface oceanographic conditions in the Aegean Sea (eastern
Huschke RE (2000) Glossary of meteorology. American Meteorological Mediterranean): an overview. J Mar Syst 13:225–244
Society, Boston, p 638 Putniković S, Tošić I, Đurđević V (2016) Circulation weather types and
Dobrilović B (1960) Upper air flow over Yugoslavia and characteristic their influence on precipitation in Serbia. Meteorol Atmos Physics.
surface winds. Papers 3, Belgrade, Faculty of Sciences, 1–144 doi:10.1007/s00703-016-0432-6
Gavrilov MB, Lazić L, Milutinović A, Gavrilov MM (2011) Influence of Radinović Dj (1962) Thermal and dynamical conditions of the cyclone
hail suppression on the hail trend in Vojvodina, Serbia. Geographica formation in the West Mediterranean. Doctoral Thesis. University of
Pannonica 15:36–41 Belgrade, Belgrade (in Serbian)
Gavrilov MB, Marković SB, Jarad A, Korać VM (2015) The analysis of Radinović Dj (1981) Weather and climate in Yugoslavia. IRO
temperature trends in Vojvodina (Serbia) from 1949 to 2006. Therm Građevinska knjiga, Belgrade, pp 423 (in Serbian)
Sci 19:S339–S350 Romanić D, Ćurić M, Lompar M, Jovičić I (2015) Contributing factors to
Gavrilov MB, Tošić I, Marković SB, Unkašević M, Petrović P (2016a) Koshava wind characteristics. Int J Climatol 36:956–973
The analysis of annual and seasonal temperature trends using the Romanić D, Ćurić M, Zarić M, Lompar M, Jovičić I (2016) Investigation
Mann-Kendall test in Vojvodina, Serbia. Idöjárás 120:183–198 of an extreme Koshava wind episode of 30 January–4 February
Gavrilov MB, Marković SB, Schaetzl RJ, Tošić I, Zeeden C, Emunds K, 2014. Atmos Sci Lett 17:199–206
Sipos G, Ruman A, Putniković S, Obreht I, Perić Z, Lehmkuhl F Sokolović G, Radičević D, Ranković S (1984) Climate Atlas of Socialist
(2016b) Prevailing winds in Northern Serbia: recent data, geomorpho- Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Belgrade (in Serbian)
logical evidences and numerical simulations. International Conference Stegall TS, Zhang J (2012) Wind field climatology, changes, and ex-
on Loess Research—Loess 2M—modelling and mapping. 26–29 tremes in the Chukchi–Beaufort Seas and Alaska North Slope dur-
August 2016, Novi Sad, Serbia, 10–11. ISBN 978–86–7031-408-5 ing 1979–2009. J Clim 25:8075–8089
Gburčik P (1960) The influence of the Alps on the change of vorticity,
Stull BR (1988) An introduction to boundary layer meteorology. Kluwer
over the Gulf of Genoa. Geofis Pura Appl 45:238–248
Academicals Publishers, Boston, p 666
Gburčik P, Gburčik V, Gavrilov MB, Srdanović V, Mastilović S (2006)
Tošić I, Hrnjak I, Gavrilov MB, Unkašević M, Marković SB, Lukić T
Complementary regimes of solar and wind energy in Serbia. Geogr
(2014) Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation in
Pannonica 10:22–25
Vojvodina, Serbia. Theor Appl Climatol 117:331–341
Holton JR (1972) An introducion to dynamic meteorology. Academic
Trigo RM, DaCamara CC (2000) Circulation weather types and their
Press, New York, p 320
influence on the precipitation regime in Portugal. Int J Climatol
Horvath K, Lin YL, Ivančan-Picek B (2008) Classification of cyclone
20:1559–1581
tracks over the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea. Mon Wea Rev 136:
2210–2227 [Link] Accessed 15 May 2016 Trigo FI, Bigg GR, Davies TD (2002) Climatology of cyclogenesis mech-
Hrnjak I, Lukić T, Gavrilov MB, Marković SB, Unkašević M, Tošić I (2014) anisms in the Mediterranean. Mon Wea Rev 130:549–569
Aridity in Vojvodina, Serbia. Theor Appl Climatol 115:323–332 Unkašević M, Mališić J, Tošić I (1998) On some new statistical charac-
Jenkinson AF, Collison FP (1977) An initial climatology of gales over the teristics of the wind “Koshava”. Meteorog Atmos Phys 66:11–21
North Sea. Synoptic Climatology Branch Memorandum 62, Unkašević M, Mališić J, Tošić I (1999) Some aspects of the wind ‘Koshava’
Meteorological Office, Bracknell, UK in the lower troposphere over Belgrade. Meteorol Appl 6:69–79
Jiménez PA, González-Rouco JF, Montávez JP, García-Bustamante E, Unkašević M, Tošić I (2006) Košava. Academic mind. Belgrade, pp 82
Navarro J (2009) Climatology of wind patterns in the northeast of (in Serbian)
the Iberian Peninsula. Int J Climatol 29:501–525 Unkašević M, Tošić I, Obradović M (2007) Spectral analysis of the
Kalnay E, Kanamitsu M, Collins W, Deaven D, Gandin L, Iredell M et al “Koshava” wind. Theor Appl Climatol 89:239–244
(1996) The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bull Am Unkašević M, Tošić I (2013) Trends in temperature indices over Serbia:
Meteorol Soc 77:437–470 relationships to large-scale circulation patterns. Int J Climatol 33:
Klaić ZB, Prodanov AD, Belušić D (2009) Wind measurements in Senj— 3152–3161
underestimation of true bora flows. Geofizika 26:246–252 Vukmirović D (1985) The spatial structure of the Koshava wind (in
Küttner J (1940) Der Kosava in Serbien. Meteorol Z 57:120–123 Russian). In XI International Conference on Carpathian
Lamb HH (1972) British Isles weather types and a register of daily se- Meteorology, Hungarian Meteorological Service, Hungarian,
quence of circulation patterns, 1861–1971, Geophysical Memoir Budapest, 10–15
116, HMSO, London UK, pp 85 Ward R (1919) The prevailing winds of the United States. Mon Wea Rev
Lorente-Plazas R, Montávez JP, Jiménez PA, Jerez S, Gómez-Navarro JJ, 47:575–576
García-Valero JA, Jiménez-Guerrero P (2015) Characterization of sur- World Meteorological Organization (1979) Technical Regulations. Basic
face winds over the Iberian Peninsula. Int J Climatol 35:1007–1026 Documents No. 2. Geneva, Switzerland