Temporal change of some statistical characteristics of wind speed over the Great Hungarian Plain

Summary  The objective of this study is to assess whether changes in the surface pressure field over Europe are reflected in the statistical structure of the wind field over the Great Hungarian Plain. The data basis consists of hourly wind speed data from 1968–72 and 1991–95, from three meteorological stations (Debrecen, Békéscsaba and Szeged) located in the Great Hungarian Plain. A new statistical test and its application for determining the statistical significance of differences between expected values of non-independent wind speed time series is presented in the paper. The summer wind field over the Great Hungarian Plain shows evidence of change: wind speeds have been decreasing and a tertiary maximum, in July, has become less pronounced. Received August 31, 2000 Revised January 2, 2001