Summary:

The paper presents temporal and spatial differentiation of monthly and annual sums of atmospheric precipitation at three stations located in Cracow’s surroundings along a longitudinal profile: Garlica Murowana (representing the Cracow- Częstochowa Upland), Cracow-Botanical Garden (in the Vistula river valley) and Gaik-Brzezowa (in the Wieliczka Foothills, a part of the Carpathian Foothills), in the years 1971-2005. In summer, the precipitation was by 20% higher in Gaik-Brzezowa and in winter by 25% lower in Garlica than at other two stations. The highest mean annual precipitation sum was characteristic for Gaik: 747.5 mm (Table 1). The largest variability is typical for the precipitation in Garlica, especially in cold half-year (Figure 1). The highest annual precipitation sums were noted in 2001 in Garlica (865.2 mm) and Cracow (845.9 mm) and in 1974 in Gaik (1178.7 mm), while the lowest annual sums occurred everywhere in 1993 (446.1, 482 and 524.8 mm, respectively). The precipitation sums show large inter-annual variability, high irregularity and lack of any clear tendency (Table 2, Figure 2). Mean annual number of days with precipitation reached 132 mm in Garlica, 168 mm in Gaik and 216.4 mm in Cracow but in case of the days with daily precipitation sum ≥5 mm their numbert for Garlica and Cracow is almost the same while a bit higher values can be found for Gaik. The highest number of days with low precipitation sums is characteristic for Cracow, while the highest number of days with high precipitation sums occurs in Gaik (Table 3). Each of the stations studied has distinguished precipitation conditions: Garlica is the driest point and with the highest precipitation variability, urban station in Cracow is characterised by the highest number of days with daily precipitation sum 1-5 mm, and in Gaik the annual and monthly precipitation sums are usually the highest and there is the highest number of days with daily precipitation sum above 10 mm. The Wieliczka Foothills has much better precipitation conditions for agriculture than the southern slope of the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland due to higher monthly and annual precipitation sums and their lower variability.