Observed urban effects on precipitation along the Dutch West coast

xpansion of urban areas has profound effects on land surface characteristics. As such, the land surface can exert influence on atmospheric parameters that might alter precipitation amounts or patterns. In this study, precipitation observations near urban areas along the West coast of the Netherlands are investigated throughout the 1951–2010 period. An innovative analysis methodology is used to deal with the small and fragmented urban areas in the Netherlands. The results show that daily precipitation totals downwind of urban areas are, on average, about 7% higher than precipitation in the rest of the Dutch West coast. Precipitation enhancements up to 20% are found depending on wind direction and time period. These results are comparable with studies from around the globe and show that the influence of relatively small fragmented urban areas, as are present in the Netherlands, can be similar to the influence of large metropolitan areas on precipitation.