Naslov
Meteorology of the Split fire in Croatia, 16 July 2017

Autori
Čavlina Tomašević, Ivana ; Cheung, Kevin ; Vučetić, Višnjica ; Horvath, Kristian ; Telišman Prtenjak, Maja

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
Conference Proceedings: 6th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference / Zimmerman, Tom ; Slijepcevic, Alen ; Ganteaume, Anne - Albuquerque : Marseille : Sydney : International Association of Wildland Fire, 2019, 344-349

Skup
6th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference

Mjesto i datum
Sydney, Australija, 29.04.2019. - 03.05.2019

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
bushfire, wildfire, bura wind, low-level jet, hydraulic jump

Sažetak
At 22:42 UTC on 16th July 2017 the first call was received to report fire close to Split, the second largest city in Croatia. Split is situated on Adriatic coast, the area most vulnerable to wildfires. Driven by a strong Bora wind, the fire spread rapidly during the night, reaching the outskirts of the city. In just a few hours the Split Fire turned out to be the most severe fire event in Croatian history, among firefighting aviation called ‘Mother of all fires’ due to impossible operation on 17th July because of a severe turbulence. The wildfire lasted 9 days and burnt 4500 ha around Split. Weather conditions are analysed using meteorological data from the Split automatic weather station, surface synoptic charts from the German Weather Service and simulations with 4 km resolution from ALADIN/HR model, which is run daily at the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Weather Service. Surface synoptic charts show high pressure in the northwest and low pressure southeast of Croatia that resulted with a high pressure gradient in this region, especially along the Adriatic coast. Observations indicate the occurrence of a substantial increase in wind speed on the 16th July. Bora, north easterly wind, had a maximum gust of 6.1 m/s around the time the fire started, but with maximum of a 19.2 m/s recorded earlier that day. North eastern flow brought cooler air in the region, which resulted in an air temperature drop observed by the automatic station in Split. The lowest relative humidity in July was recorded for 24 hours prior and after the start of the fire. Simulated vertical profiles show the occurrence of low level jet on the location of fire 24 hours prior and after the fire start, with maximum speed of 17 m/s at 1005 m height at the time of the fire start. The low level jet is known to accelerate forest fires and turbulence beneath it is closely related to extreme fire behaviour, like it was observed in the case of Split fire. Further research will include simulations of WRF model with higher resolution. The goal is to investigate low level jet dynamics and main drivers for extreme fire behaviour which could be used as an additional forecasting tool in a future.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Geofizika

Napomena
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