Dynamics of extreme rainfall events in summer in southern Uruguay

We investigate the characteristics of extreme rainfall events in southern Uruguay during the summer season. The focus of this work is to understand the dynamics of these events. Therefore, we define the southern area with a clustering analysis of the meteorological stations. Then, we divide the events into three classes, considering the principal components of the 2m temperature. For each class, we calculate composites of atmospheric variables. We find three basic dynamics that can be associated to extreme events. The first group is characterized by atmospheric instability and a cold front that triggers the event. The second group is associated with deep convection that was initiated in central Argentina. The third group is represented by an intense surface low pressure in Uruguay that is favoured by the 200 hPa circulation. The results are in good agreement with the previous studies.