Performance of the Copernicus European Regional Reanalysis (CERRA) dataset as proxy of ground-based agrometeorological data

The continuous advances in numerical modeling of the atmosphere, computing power and data assimilation techniques entail frequent updates of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models that show improved forecast skill. This circumstance leads to the recurrent delivery of revised reanalysis databases that provide weather estimates for several decades back in time by combining the latest NWP models with observations. Since climate studies and agriculture water management applications require the availability of accurate and reliable weather data, assessing the performance of reanalysis products contributes to informed choices of potential weather proxy of ground-based agrometeorological data. CERRA (Copernicus European Regional ReAnalysis) dataset is the latest regional reanalysis product released by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), in August 2022. CERRA is forced by the global ERA5 reanalysis, and it provides weather data with resolution of 5.5 km for the pan-European territory from 1984. For the first time in literature, this study explores the performance of CERRA data at 38 ground-based weather stations located in Sicily, an Italian region with Mediterranean climate, during the irrigation seasons 2003–2022. The objective of the study lies in evaluating CERRA performance with respect to air temperature, actual vapor pressure, wind speed and solar radiation that are input variables for assessing reference evapotranspiration, ETO, which is a key variable for quantifying irrigation volumes needed for water resources studies. The accuracy of ETO estimates depends on those input variables through the equation provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), i.e., the FAO Penman-Monteith equation. Here, it is also evaluated the performance of ETO estimates by using CERRA weather inputs in the FAO Penman-Monteith equation. The results show that the performances of CERRA weather data are excellent, especially for air temperature, and this determines that CERRA ETO estimates present high accuracy and reliability with a mean PBIAS and NRMSE equal to 5.6% and 13%, respectively, over the region. Those outcomes lead to the conclusion that CERRA dataset represents a valid alternative to ground-based agrometeorological measurements and their spatial interpolation for water resource regional studies.