Estimation of minimum temperature on a mesoscale

Abstract

Working relationships between mean minimum temperatures and environmental factors by means of regression techniques were established and used to estimate temperatures at gridpoints. These estimated temperatures were then used with a computer package program to map the isotherms on a mesoscale. An example is presented. The environmental factors which were found to have a significant bearing on the minimum temperature in this specific case were elevation, latitude, longitude, distance from the sea and topographic features of the local terrain. An index was defined to describe the relevant local terrain properties.