Subseasonal temperature trends in Europe (1961-2000) and their links to atmospheric circulation

We use daily maximum and minimum temperatures and the daily temperature range from 136 stations in Europe in the period 1961–2000 to precisely locate their seasonal and subseasonal trends within the year. Linear trends are calculated for moving “subseasons” of 10, 20, 30, 60, and 90 days, each shifted by one day. Over most of Europe, the observed warming is greatest in winter. In Iceland and the Mediterranean, a pronounced warming is only present in summer. Significant autumn cooling was found in Eastern and Southeastern Europe for both TX and TN. Other non-warming periods occur in Western and Central Europe in February, April, and late June. Trends of DTR are inconclusive. Changes in the frequency of atmospheric circulation types usually explain a substantial part of the observed climatic trends; however, the influence varies between regions, times of the year, subseason lengths, numbers of circulation types, and input variables for the classification of circulation types