Advances in Geosciences www.adv-geosci.net 1680-7340 1680-7359 17 9th EGU Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms (2007) 2009 10.5194/adgeo-17-99-2009 http://www.adv-geosci.net/17/99/2009/ http://www.adv-geosci.net/17/99/2009/adgeo-17-99-2009.html http://www.adv-geosci.net/17/99/2009/adgeo-17-99-2009.pdf 99 103 2009-03-13 The impact of hail storms on the agricultural economy of Cyprus and their characteristics K. A. Nicolaides kleanthi@spidernet.com.cy G. Photiou K. Savvidou A. Orphanou S. C. Michaelides T. S. Karakostas D. Charalambous C. Kannaouros Meteorological Service, Nicosia, Cyprus Agricultural Insurance Organization, Nicosia, Cyprus Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Department of Physics University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK The contemporary economy of Cyprus is mostly based on services; agriculture was by tradition a strong contributor to the economy of the island, but nowadays its contribution is rather limited. At all times, the agricultural economy suffers from the consequences of weather phenomena such as hail, frost, drought, dust storms, etc. The present study focuses on the impact of hail to the agricultural economy, since hailstorms can straightforwardly destroy crops and plantations. Any knowledge concerning hail is useful for the improved understanding of the underlying thermodynamic and dynamic mechanisms and physical processes associated with its formation. For the investigation of hail as a natural hazard and its contribution to the insurance compensations paid to farmers, hail events and their associated synoptic and dynamic conditions were studied. Hail events were clustered into a "frontal instability hail events" and a "thermal instability hail events" clusters. The spatial distribution of the frequency of hail events was also determined in order to identify geographical areas that are more often hit by hail storms. Barber, C. B., Dobkin, D. P., and Huhdanpaa, H. T.: The Quickhull Algorithm for Convex Hulls, ACM T. Math. Software, 22, 4, 469–483, Dec. 1996. Blanchet, G.: Le temps au Liban. Approche d'une Climatologie Synoptique, Thèse 3ème Cycle, Lyon. T.I., 447 (text et tab.) & T.II (Atlas), 1976. de Berg, M., Cheong, O., van Kreveld, M., and Overmars, M.: Computational Geometry: Algorithms and Applications, Springer-Verlag, 191–218, 2008. Jacobeit, J.: Variations of trough position and precipitation patterns in the Mediterranean area, J. Climatol., 7, 453–476, 1987. Kallos, G. and Metaxas, D. A.: Synoptic processes for the formation of Cyprus lows, Riv. Meteorol. Aeronau., XL(2–3), 121–138, 1980. Maheras, P. : A factorial analysis of Mediterranean precipitation, Arch. Meteor. Geophy. B., 36, 1–14, 1985. Michaelides, S., Nicolaides, K., and Karacostas, T.: Statistical characteristics of the cold season depressions over the area of Cyprus, Meteorologick\'y èasopis 7, 61–66, 2004. Nicolaides, K.: Synoptic and dynamic study of the depression cases affected the wider area of Cyprus during cold months, PhD thesis, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2005 (in Greek). Nicolaides, K., Michaelides, S., and Karacostas, T.: Spatial distribution of some dynamic parameters during the evolution of selected depressions over the area of Cyprus, Int. J. Climatol., 24, 1829–1844, 2004. Radinovic, D.: Mediterranean cyclones and their influence on the weather and climate, PSMP Rep Series 24, WMO, Geneva, Switzerland, 131 pp., 1987. Watson, D. E.: Contouring: A Guide to the Analysis and Display of Spatial Data, Tarrytown, NY: Pergamon (Elsevier Science, Inc.), 101–162, 1992.