On a bora event simulated by the Eta Model

Summary ¶This study presents a numerical simulation of the bora wind as it occurs in form of a severe wind blowing down coastal mountains and over the Adriatic Sea. A typical cyclonic bora event, occurring during the period January 3–6, 1995, is simulated using a nested limited area model. An integration, with horizontal resolution of about 14km, and a nested one, with higher resolution, about 5.5km, are presented. The 1997 version of the Eta Model is used for both the lower resolution and the higher resolution runs. Numerous details of the simulation are found to be in good agreement with the understanding as well as the observational knowledge of the bora, thus supporting confidence in the realism of the results. In particular, features of the simulated flow are seen strongly indicative of some basic characteristics of the hydraulic model of the phenomenon, such as the mountain wave breaking and the upstream flow acceleration. Moreover, the increase in horizontal resolution, in combination with an improvement of the coastal SST information, led to a still improved realism of the low-level wind representation over the Adriatic Sea.Received December 31, 2001; revised March 25, 2002; accepted July 19, 2002 Published online: February 20, 2003