Climatology of the spring Red Sea Trough

The spring Sudan low and its Red Sea Trough (RST) were detected objectively using sea level pressure data obtained from a National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis dataset spanning the period from 1955 to 2014. The climatology of the detected lows suggested that the Sudan low was active for approximately 69.5% of the spring and that approximately 56.2% of this time the Sudan low developed into the RST. Furthermore, three main genesis regions of the RST, which generated 95.25% of the RST, were identified over Sudan, South Sudan and the Red Sea, approximately 61.76% of which was over South Sudan. In addition, three main outermost areas of the RST, which received 94.1% of the RST, were specified to the west, east and north of the Red Sea, approximately 54.88% of which was in the eastern region. Synoptically, the orientations of the detected RST around the Red Sea are strongly influenced by the Siberian and Azores high systems. The RST is directed along the western side of the Red Sea if the Siberian high extends westward and the Azores high shrinks westward, whereas the RST is oriented to the east if the Siberian high shrinks eastward and the Azores high extends eastward. The RST extends directly northward if the Siberian and Azores high systems withdraw eastward and westward, respectively. These results also demonstrate that the core position and strength of the upper maximum winds play an important role in the generation of RST. The selected case studies have confirmed the synoptic climate results and indicate that the Sudan low will not develop into RST when the northern region has been affected by a high‐pressure system and the core of the upper maximum wind is located over the northern Arabian Peninsula. Geographical and topographical map of the Red Sea and the surrounding area (elevation scale in meters). The black rectangle specifies the main generation area of the Sudan low.