Episódios significativos de ventos de través no aeroporto de Petrolina: um estudo de condições meteorológicas adversas em operações de pouso e decolagem.

Abstract

The development of this work aimed to characterize the surface wind regime in the Petrolina International Airport area (Senator Nilo Coelho) and to identify adverse weather conditions crucial to landing and takeoff operations. Special focus was given to cross-wind (wind perpendicular to the runway) episodes. The main data used are the METAR messages for the period 2003 – 2014. A significant increase in cross-wind frequency, that reaches 100% in the month of July, is important information to be considered by the pilots that operate in the region. The Factor Analysis by Principal Components (PCA) was used to identify physical mechanisms associated with significant changes in the local wind. Three factors explaining 94.9% of the variance in the month of April were retained. The most significant episodes of cross-wind on the Northeast quadrant (TRV_NE) occurred in 2012 under atmospheric conditions influenced by UTCV (Upper Tropospheric Cyclonic Vortex). Descending motion in the UTCV center, reduction in atmospheric humidity and a larger number of higher base clouds are among the main characteristics of these events. The analyses show also a positive relationship between the number of UTCV reports and the frequency of TRV_NE, and that the lake breeze circulation induced by the implantation of the Sobradinho Lake to the south of the Petrolina airport contributed for the increase in the frequency of cross-wind on the Southwest quadrant (TRV_SW).