https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2021-56 Preprint. Discussion started: 26 August 2021 c Author(s) 2021. CC BY 4.0 License. Atmospheric Blocking and Weather Extremes over the Euro-Atlantic Sector - A Review Lisa-Ann Kautz1, Olivia Martius2, Stephan Pfahl3, Joaquim G. Pinto1, Alexandre M. Ramos4, Pedro M. Sousa4,5, and Tim Woollings6 1Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe, Germany 2Institute of Geography, and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland 3Institute of Meteorology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany 4Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal 5Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), 1749-077 Lisboa, Portugal 6Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Correspondence: Lisa-Ann Kautz (
[email protected]) Abstract. The physical understanding and timely prediction of extreme weather events are of enormous importance to society regarding associated impacts. In this article, we highlight several types of weather extremes occurring in Europe in connection with a particular atmospheric flow pattern, known as atmospheric blocking. This flow pattern effectively blocks the prevailing westerly large-scale atmospheric flow, resulting in changing flow anomalies in the vicinity of the blocking system and persistent 5 conditions in the immediate region of its occurrence. Blockings are long-lasting, quasi-stationary, self-sustaining systems that occur frequently over certain regions. Their presence and characteristics have an impact on the predictability of weather extremes and can thus be used as potential indicators. The phasing between the surface and the upper-level blocking anomalies is of major importance for the development of the extreme event.