Constructing a Supercell Database in Spain Using Publicly Available Two-Dimensional Radar Images and Citizen Science

Abstract

Supercell thunderstorms are often associated with severe weather conditions, such as tornadoes, hail, strong wind gusts, and heavy rainfall, bringing about potentially significant consequences to populations and assets. Despite potential impacts, a lack of publicly available data has hindered the analysis and characterization of supercell climatology in Spain. We address this problem through a volunteered, collaborative, public effort to develop a database on supercell events from January 2014 through December 2019. Using multiple inclusion criteria and validation steps, we identified 703 thunderstorms with supercell characteristics during the six-year study period. With public participation, we were able to confirm 20.5 percent of the medium-high confidence supercells identified by two-dimensional radar images. Further analyses reveal a spatial distribution with a high degree of activity in the eastern half of Spain, primarily the Mediterranean and northeastern regions. Our data and results show the value of citizen science and public participation and could serve as a foundation for more thorough and sophisticated climatological investigation.

超级单体雷暴常常与恶劣天气条件（龙卷风、冰雹、强阵风、强降雨）有关，对人口和财产带来重大后果。尽管有潜在的影响，公开数据的缺乏，已经阻碍了对西班牙超级单体气象的分析和描述。为此，通过志愿性、合作式和公众的工作，我们建立了2014年1月至2019年12月超级单体事件数据库。采用多个收录标准和验证措施，确定了6年中703个具有超级单体性质的雷暴。通过公众参与，二维雷达影像检测到的中高可信度的超级单体，我们可以确认20.5%的雷暴。进一步分析表明，在空间分布上，西班牙东部（主要是地中海地区和东北区域）具有高频率。数据和结果显示了民众科学和公众参与的价值，可以做为更深入、更复杂气象研究的基础。

Las tormentas de supercelda a menudo ocurren asociadas con condiciones meteorológicas severas, tales como tornados, granizadas, ráfagas de viento muy fuerte y alta precipitación, lo cual conlleva consecuencias potencialmente significativas para la población y para los bienes. Pese a los impactos potenciales, la falta de datos públicamente disponibles ha obstaculizado el análisis y caracterización de la climatología de superceldas en España. Abocamos este problema mediante un esfuerzo público, voluntario y colaborativo para desarrollar una base de datos sobre eventos de superceldas, desde enero de 214 hasta diciembre de 2019. Usando criterios de inclusión múltiple y de etapas de validación, identificamos 703 tormentas con características de superceldas durante el período de estudio de seis años. Con participación pública, pudimos confirmar un 20.5 por ciento de las superceldas con un grado de confianza media–alta, identificadas por imágenes de radar bidimensionales. Análisis adicionales revelan una distribución espacial con un alto grado de actividad en la mitad oriental de España, primariamente en las regiones mediterránea y nororiental. Nuestros datos y resultados muestran el valor de la ciencia ciudadana y de la participación pública, y podrían servir de fundamentación a una investigación climatológica más exhaustiva y sofisticada.

Key Words:

• citizen science
• climatology
• severe weather
• Spain
• supercells

关键词:

• 民众科学
• 气象
• 恶劣天气
• 西班牙
• 超级单体

Palabras clave:

• ciencia ciudadana
• climatología
• España
• superceldas
• tiempo fuerte

Acknowledgments

We thank all of the collaborators on this project. In particular, we appreciate the contributions from meteorological agencies (Euskalmet and Servei Meteorologic de Catalunya), AEMET collaborators, and local storm chasers. Special thanks to José Antonio Quirantes for his pioneering work in this area and José Antonio Gallego for the collaboration.

Notes

1 All information collected by the ongoing project is publicly available at: arcg.is/1bPe9n.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yago Martín

YAGO MARTÍN is an urban resilience Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the use of geographic information technologies for disaster risk reduction and hazard risk management.

Miguel Cívica

MIGUEL CÍVICA is a Meteorologist at the Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (Spanish National Meteorology Office), 28071 Madrid, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the analysis of severe weather environments.

Erika Pham

ERIKA PHAM is a Research Associate at the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute in the Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include hazard risk management and rural recovery.