Estimating monthly surface winds for Scania, southern Sweden, using geostrophic wind (1899–1997)

Wind direction conditions during the 20th century in Scania, southern Sweden, are investigated using an estimated series of monthly wind vector components (east–west u component and north–south v component). The series is developed from a regression relationship between pairwise (1973 to 1997) monthly averages of 10–m surface wind from Scania and a monthly geostrophic wind, based on mean sea level (MSL) pressure data from the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The wind conditions during the 20th century are dominated by winds from southwesterly and westerly directions, particularly during summer and autumn. From the 1980s onwards, increased frequencies of westerly winds are evident in spring and summer; however, similarly large frequencies of westerly winds are also found during the early part of the 20th century. Analysis of the estimated wind series indicates large variation in wind direction during the investigated time period, particularly during 1930 to 1960 when large increases of easterly winds are evident in spring. Increased frequencies of easterly winds were also found in other months during this period but not to the same extent as during the spring season. Thus, the presence of periods with quite different wind characteristics suggests that the overall atmospheric circulation has experienced some shifts in this region during the 20th century.