Spatial and temporal variability of winter and summer precipitation over Serbia and Montenegro

Summary The main characteristics of the spatial and temporal variability of winter and summer precipitation observed at 30 stations in Serbia and Montenegro were analysed for the period 1951–2000. The rainfall series were examined spatially by means of Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) and temporally by means of the Mann-Kendall test and spectral analysis. The Alexandersson test was used to detect the inhomogeneity of the data set.The EOF analysis gave three winter and summer dominant modes of variations, which explained 89.7% and 70.4% of the variance, respectively. The time series associated with the first pattern showed a decreasing trend in winter precipitation. The spectral analysis showed a 16-year oscillation for the dominant winter pattern, around a 3-year oscillation for the dominant summer pattern, and a quasi-cycle of 2.5 years for the winter third pattern.