The Oder flood in July 1997: Transport routes of precipitable water diagnosed with an operational forecast model

A regional simulation of the severe precipitation episode which gave rise t o the floods in the eastern part of Central Europe during July 1997 was per formed using the meso-beta-scale weather prediction model DM of Deutscher W etterdienst. It is shown that the model reproduces the mesoscale precipitat ion distribution reasonably well as verified against available rain gauge o bservations. It is therefore used to investigate the transport routes of th e bulk of moisture which led to the wide spread heavy precipitation. Inspec tion of the atmospheric water budget highlights the importance of the cyclo nic advection of moist mediterranean air for the formation of strong precip itation in Central Europe. Autochthonous influences are comparably small.