Shallow and deep low-wind events in Europe: an ERA5-based event dataset (1979–2024)

Description This dataset provides a catalogue of low-wind events (LWEs) across Europe derived from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data for the period 1979–2024. The dataset introduces a boundary-layer-aware classification of low-wind conditions using wind speeds at both 10 m and 100 m above ground level. Events are classified into three categories: Deep LWEs: low wind speeds at both 10 m and 100 m; Shallow LWEs: low wind speeds at 10 m but not at 100 m; Hub-height-only low wind events: low wind speeds at 100 m but not at 10 m. A wind-speed threshold of 3 m s⁻¹ is applied. Persistent LWEs are defined as events lasting at least 48 consecutive hours. Adjacent persistent events separated by interruptions of no more than 6 hours are merged into a single event. Files Data Files LWE_deep_events_1979-2024_U3ms-1_D48h_G6h.parquet LWE_shallow_events_1979-2024_U3ms-1_D48h_G6h.parquet LWE_hubonlylow_events_1979-2024_U3ms-1_D48h_G6h.parquet European_LWE_Flag_Dataset_1979-2024_U3ms-1_D48h_G6h.zip Documentation README_EventCatalogue.md README_LWEFlagDataset.md Code generate_LWE_dataset.ipynb Reproducible workflow used to generate the published LWE event catalogue and hourly LWE flag dataset from ERA5 data. Data Source The dataset is derived from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Contact Lihong Zhou ([e-mail])UiT The Arctic University of Norway Citation A manuscript describing the dataset has been submitted. If you use this dataset, please cite: Zhou, L and Esau, I. (2026). European Low-Wind Event Dataset (1979–2024). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20748499.