On the Use of Synoptic Weather Map Typing to Define Solar Radiation Regimes

A synoptic approach to the analysis of solar radiation regimes is used to develop a synoptic solar radiation climatology. Synoptic weather types for an area including British Columbia and the adjacent regions of the northeastern Pacific are defined by using an objective correlation classification technique. These weather types determine statistically distinct solar radiation distributions. Further analysis shows that the distinctiveness of the solar radiation regimes is not sufficient to be used in practical applications, such as interpolation between measurement stations, estimation of solar radiation inputs in the absence of observed data, or in the explanation of the interannual variability of solar radiation. As a result, attempts to base a solar radiation climatology solely on the synoptic regimes defined by using the readily available data and techniques of this study are not justified. The statistical analyses suggest that the use of more appropriate synoptic data and typing techniques may overcome many of the inadequacies of this study.