STATE OF THE CLIMATE IN 2009

in Turkey and also in Macedonia, which recordedmonthly mean anomalies of greater than +4°C inplaces.(ii) PrecipitationThe year brought well-above-average precipitationover most of the southwestern Balkan Peninsula andsouthern Italy, exceeding 125% of normal in mostplaces (Fig. 7.30). In Croatia, rainfall was significantlybelow average in the East, while on the southernAdriatic coast precipitation was above the long-termmean. Some places in Turkey recorded 150% of theirannual average.Winter brought wetter-than-normal conditionsover most of Italy and the Balkan Peninsula, with theexception of Bulgaria (Fig. 7.33, DJF). January rainfallwas particularly high, with maxima in Greece andon the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula. LuqaAirport on Malta received its highest monthly rainfalltotal in 85 years (247 mm).The northern Balkan Peninsula experienced drierthan-normalconditions during spring, while wetterconditions occurred in the South. March precipitationin Athens was twice the normal. The eastern BalkanPeninsula had a very dry April, but places in northernItaly registered their second wettest April in 75 yearsor more, resulting in the flooding of the Po River.It was generally wet during June. Monthly averagetotals were exceeded by more than 25% with theexception of northern Italy, southern Greece andwestern Turkey, which were all very dry. July andAugust were mostly dry.Abundant rainfall occurred in southern Italyand Sardinia in September and October, whereasdrier-than-average conditions occurred in Tuscanyand northeastern Italy. Autumn was also very wet inthe southern and eastern parts of the Balkan Peninsula(Fig. 7.33, SON). September brought exceptionalrainfall totals to Athens (48 mm or 480% of 1961–90average). Serbia and northern parts of Bulgaria werevery wet during October.December was also generally wetter than averageacross the region. Several stations in northern Italyrecorded their wettest or second wettest December innearly 90 years, mainly due to an intense precipitationevent around Christmas. An exceptional local24-hr precipitation record was set in Makrinitsa incentral Greece, where 417.2 mm fell on 10 December.This corresponds to nearly half of the total rainfallfor 2009 at this station. Other locations also receivedexceptional precipitation on that day, resulting insignificant flooding and widespread damage.(iii) Notable eventsAn outbreak of cold air from Eastern Europebrought abundant snowfall over northern Italy from3–10 January. Temperatures dropped below 0°C inmany places. On 7 January, a snow depth of 26 cmwas reported in Milan.On 24 February, exceptionally heavy rainfall inMalta led to the cancellation of the National Carnivalgrand finale. A heavy storm over the western Mediterraneanwith gusts up to hurricane force, heavy rain,snowfall, and high seas followed on 4–6 March dueto a cut-off cyclone.From 20–22 June, an Atlantic disturbance affectedmost of Italy with heavy rainfall and strong winds.Daily precipitation on 21 June set new records at fourlocations which had 58 years of record.On 7–12 September, torrential rains and floodingaffected northwestern Turkey, with the heaviestrainfall in 80 years. Istanbul received 67 mm of rainwithin one hour on 9 September.A violent storm crossed southern Italy on 15–17September, flooding the city of Palermo (Sicily). On2 October, a storm dropped 70 mm of rain within sixhours in Messina, Sicily. Civil protection measurementstations recorded up to 300 mm of precipitationat mountainous sites, resulting in Italy’s worstmudslides in more than a decade.Abundant snowfalls occurred from 18–20 Decemberover northern parts of Italy, with depths up to 30cm. Subsequent warming and continuous rainfallresulted in rapid snowmelt causing extensive floodingin Tuscany just before Christmas.6) Eastern Europe—A. Obregón, P. Bissolli, J. J. Kennedy,and D. E. ParkerCountries considered in this chapter include:European Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, andRomania.(i) TemperatureAnnual temperature anomalies over Eastern Europeranged between +1°C and +2°C (Fig. 29), withonly northern parts of European Russia recordinganomalies below +1°C. Parts of Romania exceededanomalies of +2°C. Moldova experienced its secondwarmest year in history, beaten only by 2007.Unlike most of Western Europe, Eastern Europeancountries experienced well-above-average temperaturesduring winter 2008/09 with anomalies surpassing+2°C (Fig. 7.32a).Spring temperature anomalies exceeded +1°C inwestern parts of Belarus, Ukraine, and Romania (Fig.S168 | juNE 2010