Sea level pressure patterns associated with dry or wet monthly rainfall conditions in Turkey

Monthly rainfall totals at 7 stations across Turkey and sea level pressure (SLP) in 16 grid points in the region delimited by the 20 degreesE and 50 d egreesE longitudes and by the 30 degreesN and 45 degreesN latitudes were an alysed. Data were available for a period longer than sixty years. The stand ard deviations of SLP at each grid point for each month, were calculated an d mapped. For each station, months were defined as dry or wet according to their z scores: less than or equal to -1.0 or greater than or equal to 1.0 respectively. Maps showing the SLP, z scores of the corresponding dry or we t months for each station were prepared. The maps, enable to distinguish be tween SLP patterns associated with dry or wet conditions. Furthermore, corr elations between monthly rainfall in each of the stations and SLP at each g rid point were performed. The correlation coefficients were mapped. The main findings can be summarized as follows: (a) The variability of the SLP decreases from the Balkans towards the Arabi an Peninsula and is much larger in winter as compared with summer. (b) Rela tionship between rainfall in Turkey and the regional SLP is large in winter and non existing in summer. (c) Pressure patterns associated with dry cond itions, show usually positive SLP departures, whereas, pressure patterns as sociated with wet conditions show usually negative SLP departures. (d) Ther e is a great resemblance between pressure patterns associated with wet cond itions and correlation maps of the same months.