On the Use of Synoptic Weather Map Typing to Define Solar Radiation Regimes

Abstract

A synoptic approach to the analysis of solar radiation regimes is undertaken with the aim of developing a synoptic solar radiation climatology. Synoptic weather types for an area including British Columbia and the adjacent regions of the northeastern Pacific are defined using an objective correlation classification technique. These weather types are shown to determine statistically distinct solar radiation distributions. However, further analysis shows that the distinctiveness of the solar radiation regimes is not sufficient to be used in practical applications such as interpolation between measurement stations, estimation of solar radiation inputs in the absence of observed data or in the explanation of the interannual variability of solar radiation. As a result, attempts to base a solar radiation climatology solely on the synoptic regimes defined using the readily available data and techniques employed in this study are not justified. However, the statistical analyses do suggest that the use of more appropriate synoptic data and typing techniques may overcome many of the inadequacies in the present study.