Mini Blog -1

Temperatures, Winds, and Precipitation along the Croatian Coast. 

Temperatures

The mean annual temperature along the coast ranges from 53 degrees F to 64 degrees F. (Croatian Bureau of Statistics,36) The coast is hot, dry, and sunny in the summer and mild as well as wet in the winter. The average temperatures in the summer are 77 F - 86 F in the summer and can get into the low to mid-90's. The lowest it will go in the winter is about 41 F. There is less fluctuation along the coast than there is inland because of the Marine climate over the Adriatic Sea versus the continentality effect over the land. (Climate and Weather in Croatia).

Figure 1: Shows less the temperature fluctuation for Dubrovnik, a coastal city.

Figure 2; Shows the fluctuation in termperature of Zagreb, an interior city.

Winds

The winter months have more powerful winds on the coast and the most well-known of these are the Bora winds which are a north-easterly wind that can reach dangerous speeds of over 100 miles per hour(Climate and Weather in Croatia). The Bora is a Katabatic wind that blows down from the mountain ranges like the Dinaric mountain range which forms a natural boundary between the Mediterranean and continental climates. Behind these mountains high up on a snow-covered plateau is where a high-pressure polar front is planted. Out on the Adriatic sits a low-pressure warm front. The air cools down at night on that plateau and moves closer to the dew point (Meteo Europe). It then begins to sink while warming adiabatically. Frontal lifting occurs with this. Also, Croatia is situated between 42 and 46 degrees latitude, so it's usually in the path of the westerly winds.

Image 1: Photo of Mount Dinara in Croatia.  

Video 1: Shows bora winds blowing down from the mountains.

Video 2: Shows more Bora winds.

Dark Bora Winds	LIght Bora Winds
Cyclonic pattern / Low pressure center	Anticyclonic
Southern Adriatic Sea	Most intense to the north
Cloudy and rainy (low clouds)	Clear skies
Less gusty winds than white bora	Gale force winds
Substantial amounts of rain or snow	No precipitation

Table 1: Shows the characteristics of the two types of bora winds.

Image 2: Shows a dark bora wind blowing on the Croatian Coast. 

Precipitation

The lowest precipitation amounts of about 700 mm per year are on the outer islands and the amounts increase further into the interior where there are up to four times as much precipitation. The reason for this is similar to the "lake effect." The following charts show the contrasts between coastal rainfall and that of the interior. 

Coastal City

Chart 1: Shows the annual average rainfall for Dubrovnik.

Interior City

Chart 2: Shows the average annual rainfall for Zagreb.

References

 "Bura winds affect the Adriatic, an explanation." Meteo Europe. Meteo Europe, 17 Jan. 2017. Web. 

     March 2017.

     https://www.meteoeurope.eu/bura-winds-affect-the-adriatic-an-explanation/

"Climate and Weather in Croatia." Visit Croatia. Visit Croatia, n.a.. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

     http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/index.php/information-on-croatia/climate-weather-in-croatia/

Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2011 Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia. Zagreb: Croatian 

     Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Dec. 2011. Web. 27 Feb 2017.

     http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv_Eng/ljetopis/2011/SLJH2011.pdf

Dr. Casey D. Allen, Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences,
     University of Colorado Denver: Geographic concepts such as marine climate, continentality, high
     pressure polar front, low pressure warm front, dew point, adiabatically, frontal lifting, westerly
     winds, and lake effect. These come from lecture on "Weather, Adiabatic Processe, and Storms!",
     "Earth's Temperature, Concepts, and Patterns", "Water, Atmoshperic Moisture, and Clouds", and
     "Earth's circulation."

Figure, Charts, Images, and Table References

Figure 1: "Average Monthly Weather In Durbrovnik, Croatia." Graph. Weather and     Climate. N.A.
     Web. 1 Mar. 2017.

     https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-      Sunshine,dubrovnik,Croatia

     

Figure 2: "Average Monthly Weather In Zagreb, Croatia." Graph. Weather and Climate. N.A. Web. 1

      Mar. 2017. 

     https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Zagreb,Croatia

Image 1: Inatan. Dinara Central. 14 Jan. 2017. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 28 Feb. 

     2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dinara_central.jpg

Video 1: Famous Croatian Bora Wind. Soulwindsurf. Youtube, 16 May 2011. Video. Web. 28 Feb.
     2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y6KSGy2e_Q

Video 2: 200 km/hr Bora (Bura) in Croatia. Marco Kaschuba. Youtube. 24 March 2016. Web. 28
     Feb. 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2lpFhB_cqE#t=13.391313

Table 1: Lorentz, Mario. "Bora Winds." Table. ( I created this table with information from the 

     following website: http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/wind/The-Bora.htm). 

     "Bora." Weather online. Web. 1 March 2017. 

Image 2: Spanic, Lucijan. "Dark Bora." 17 Jan. 2017. Photograph. Meteo Europe. Web. 2 March 

     2017. https://www.meteoeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/img_8337-1.jpg

Chart 1: Dubrovnik. Chart. Holiday Weather Charts. Holidayweather.com. n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

     http://www.holiday-weather.com/dubrovnik/averages/

Chart 2: Zagreb. Chart. Holiday Weather Charts. Holidayweather.com. n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

     http://www.holiday-weather.com/zagreb/averages/