doi:10.1007/s00376-016-5221-0

Anderson H. A., 2010: Characteristics of decaying storms during lightning cessation at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. M.S. thesis, Department of Meteorology, Florida State University, 75 pp.10.1002/qua.10339

b9b5ff4b371cdcca75ddc42d2855430e

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F254670921_Characteristics_of_Decaying_Storms_During_Lightning_Cessation_at_Kennedy_Space_Center_and_Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/254670921_Characteristics_of_Decaying_Storms_During_Lightning_Cessation_at_Kennedy_Space_Center_and_Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_StationABSTRACT Improved knowledge of thunderstorm behavior near the end of its lifecycle is essential to improving the prediction of lightning cessation. This study documents the characteristics of decaying storms near the end of their lightning activity at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). Total lightning data were obtained by combining information from the Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) network with the Cloud-to-Ground-Surveillance System (CGLSS) and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). The lightning data were used in conjunction with WSR-88D radar data and Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) model analyses. The study focuses on a dataset of 116 isolated unicellular and multicellular storms during the warm-seasons (May-September) of 2000-2005. Twenty of the 116 storms were tracked through lightning cessation using the K-Means storm clustering and tracking algorithm within the Warning Decision Support System – Integrated Information (WDSS-II). This tracking yielded time-series of radar-derived, RUC-derived, and lightning parameters. Flash characteristics of the 116 storms showed trends during storm growth and dissipation; however, none exhibited clear relationships with the final flash. Although most storms experienced gradually decaying flash rates until cessation, two other cessation behaviors also were observed, making flash activity an unreliable indicator of cessation. Trends in composite reflectivity, reflectivity at three temperatures crucial to storm electrification (i.e., 0C, -10C, -20C), storm thickness of 30 dBZ above -10C, and vertical gradients of reflectivity were analyzed for 20 storms during the 8 min period prior to cessation to determine if any indicated imminent cessation. Results showed substantial variability in the decaying storms. Although these parameters decreased in most storms during the 8 min period, some increased. Distributions of the parameters at the last flash also were considered, but no clearly preferred value was evident at the last flash. Neither the inversion of lightning initiation criteria (e.g., 40 dBZ at -10C) nor the descent of 45 dBZ below -10C were found to be a useful indicator of cessation. Previously-documented lightning “bubbles” of LDAR sources were observed and were consistent with pulses in the intensifying updrafts. The last lightning “bubble” signatures were found to precede lightning cessation by ~35 min.

Barthlott C., D. J. Kirshbaum, 2013: Sensitivity of deep convection to terrain forcing over Mediterranean islands. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 139( 676), 1762- 1779.10.1002/qj.2089

c31707762bd234998b3205a107cab921

http%3A%2F%2Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2F10.1002%2Fqj.2089%2Fabstract

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qj.2089/abstractThe influence of mountainous islands on the initiation of deep convection is investigated using the Consortium for Small-scale Modeling (COSMO) model. A case study and sensitivity analysis is performed for 26 August 2009, when moist convection occurred over both Corsica and Sardinia islands in the western Mediterranean Sea. Sensitivity runs with systematically modified topography are explored to evaluate the relative importance of the landea contrast and the terrain height for convection initiation. Whereas no island precipitation is simulated when the islands are completely removed, all simulations that represent these land surfaces develop convective precipitation. Although convection initiates progressively earlier in the day over taller islands, the precipitation rates and accumulations do not show a fixed relationship with terrain height. This is due to the competing effects of different physical processes. Firstly, whereas the forcing for low-level ascent increases over taller islands the boundary-layer moisture supply decreases, which diminishes the conditional instability and precipitable water. Secondly, whereas taller islands enhance the inland propagation speeds of sea-breeze fronts they also block these fronts mechanically and prevent them from reaching the island interior. As a result, the island precipitation is rather insensitive to island terrain height except for one particular case in which the island precipitation increases considerably due to an optimal superposition of the sea breeze and upslope flow. Comparing the two islands, convective precipitation develops earlier over Corsica due to its increased terrain height and reduced convective inhibition. However, precipitation amounts are substantially larger over Sardinia, where a stronger landea contrast gives rise to a more intense and organized line of sea-breeze convergence. These results demonstrate the complexity of interactions between sea breezes and orography and reinforce that an adequate representation of detailed topographic features is necessary to account for thermally induced wind systems that initiate deep convection.

Barthlott C., J. W. Schipper, N. Kalthoff, B. Adler, C. Kottmeier, A. Blyth, and S. Mobbs, 2010: Model representation of boundary-layer convergence triggering deep convection over complex terrain: A case study from COPS. Atmos. Res., 95( 2-3), 172- 185.10.1016/j.atmosres.2009.09.010

b2e0b6c4a3722dd377517505125329f2

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0169809509002671

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169809509002671An isolated thunderstorm from the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study in southwest Germany and east France in 2007 is analyzed. On July 15, deep convection developed east of the Black Forest crest, although convective available potential energy (CAPE) was only moderate and convective inhibition (CIN) was high. Data analysis revealed that convection was triggered by updrafts penetrating the capping inversion of the planetary boundary layer as a result of low-level convergence. Although the numerical weather prediction model COSMO-DE of the German Weather Service (2.8km grid resolution) simulated a convergence line and the evolution of a line of low clouds in good agreement with radar and satellite observations, no precipitating deep convection developed from this line of clouds. For an improved representation of orographic effects, simulations with a finer grid resolution of 1km were performed. Despite almost optimal conditions, i.e. moderate amount of CAPE and almost vanishing CIN, the updrafts required to overcome CIN were not reached in both model configurations. Although both simulations did not initiate deep convection, the results suggest that in an air mass convection situation without mid-tropospheric forcing, the simulated location and timing of convergence lines with coexistent large values of CAPE and low values of CIN can be used as diagnostic parameters for deep convection nowcasting.

Byers H. R., R. R. Braham, 1949: The Thunderstorm: Report of the Thunderstorm Project. U. S. Government Printing Office,287 pp.500a956b31e57acdd43161b6b3065e25

http%3A%2F%2Fci.nii.ac.jp%2Fncid%2FBA75220625

http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA75220625

Chen F., J. Dudhia, 2001: Coupling an advanced land surface-hydrology model with the Penn State-NCAR MM5 modeling system. Part II: Preliminary model validation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 587- 604.10.1175/1520-0493(2001)1292.0.CO;2

5315527203b9a4a6186814b1238287d5

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F2001MWRv..129..587C

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001MWRv..129..587CNot Available

Chen M., B. P. Fu, and Q. Yu, 1995: Influence of topography on storm rainfall. Acta Geographica Sinica, 50( 3), 256- 263. (in Chinese)0694218c8d99c27ade1354816abbcd46

http%3A%2F%2Fen.cnki.com.cn%2FArticle_en%2FCJFDTotal-DLXB503.007.htm

http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-DLXB503.007.htmIn this article. we analyse the influence of complex mountain surface layer on the formation and distribution of storm rainfall. The results show that topographically induced convergence and upward motion is one of the most important mechanism that may cause and strengthen storm rainfall. In moist regions, precipitation of storm rainfall caused by topography is much more than in less moist regions.In the humid region. leeward slope is usually dry with little or no rainfall, that is the so called rain shadow. In the semi-humid region with strong stable air passing over niountain. there is a high frenquency of leeward wave storm rainfall. In this srtuation. leeward wave storm rainfall is about eight times of that of windword slope. In the arid region. local gale may occur on leeward slope with little or no rainfall.Local thermal circulation and land-water circulation may cause cyclonic convergence with violent convective motion which can motivate nocturnal storm rainfall in the semi-humid region. In humid region, however. it may cause storm rainfall which is very strong but only lasts a short time.This kind of storm rainfall is dangerous but difficult to predict.In the mountain valleys. the moist warm air flows more paralell to the valley. storm rainfall is more easy to form or become strong. On the contrary. with air flow direction perpendicular to valley direction, the valley will be filled by dry and relatively hot air with no rainfall.

Hong S. Y., J. O. J. Lim, 2006: The WRF single-moment 6-class microphysics scheme (WSM6). Journal of the Korean Meteorological Society, 42( 2), 129- 151.7308c59e0fe08d8147ff5b2869261e63

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dbpia.co.kr%2FJournal%2FArticleDetail%2F773025

http://www.dbpia.co.kr/Journal/ArticleDetail/773025This study examines the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Single-Moment- Microphysics scheme (WSMMPs) with a revised ice-microphysics of the Hong et al. In addition to the simple (WRF Single-Moment 3-class Microphysics scheme; WSM3) and mixed-phase (WRF Single-Moment 5-class Microphysics scheme; WSM5) schemes of the Hong et al., a more complex scheme with the inclusion of graupel as another predictive variable (WRF Single-Moment 6-class Microphysics scheme; WSM6) was developed. The characteristics of the three categories of WSMMPs were examined for an idealized storm case and a heavy rainfall event over Korea. In an idealized thunderstorm simulation, the overall evolutionary features of the storm are not sensitive to the number of hydrometeors in the WSMMPs; however, the evolution of surface precipitation is significantly influenced by the complexity in microphysics. A simulation experiment for a heavy rainfall event indicated that the evolution of the simulated precipitation with the inclusion of graupel (WSM6) is similar to that from the simple (WSM3) and mixed-phase (WSM5) microphysics in a low-resolution grid; however, in a high-resolution grid, the amount of rainfall increases and the peak intensity becomes stronger as the number of hydrometeors increases.

Janjić, Z. I., 1994: The step-mountain eta coordinate model: Further developments of the convection, viscous sublayer, and turbulence closure schemes. Mon. Wea. Rev., 122( 5), 927- 945.10.1175/1520-0493(1994)1222.0.CO;2

21adf0bb81ffbc01b483730fef95b787

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F1994MWRv..122..927J

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994MWRv..122..927JAbstract The step-mountain eta model has shown a surprising skill in forecasting severe storms. Much of the credit for this should be given to the Betts and Miller (hereafter referred to as BM) convection scheme and the Mellor-Yamada (hereafter referred to as MY) planetary boundary layer (PBL) formulation. However, the eta model was occasionally producing heavy spurious precipitation over warm water, as well as widely spread light precipitation over oceans. In addition, the convective forcing, particularly the shallow one, could lead to negative entropy changes. As the possible causes of the problems, the convection scheme, the processes at the air-water interface, and the MY level 2 and level 2.5 PBL schemes were reexamined. A major revision of the BM scheme was made, a new marine viscous sublayer scheme was designed, and the MY schemes were retuned. The deep convective regimes are postulated to be characterized by a parameter called “cloud efficiency.” The relaxation time is extended for low cloud effic...

Kain J. S., J. M. Fritsch, 1993: Convective parameterization for mesoscale models: the Kain-Fritsch scheme. The Representation of Cumulus Convection in Numerical Models, K. A. Emanuel and D. J. Raymond, Eds., Amer. Meteor. Soc., 165- 170.10.1080/02571862.2012.688373

9e3e4062-0132-4ba7-bd9c-11f872ba8e8b

a32d742d9455dfe97c522bdb7157e896

http%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2F978-1-935704-13-3

refpaperuri:(da7138f9cbe1db3d8157501c2e48f99d)

http://link.springer.com/978-1-935704-13-3stress was aggravated by simultaneous drought stress.

Lascaux F., E. Richard, C. Keil, and O. Bock, 2004: Impact of the MAP reanalysis on the numerical simulation of the MAP-IOP2a convective system. Meteor. Z., 13( 1), 49- 54.10.1127/0941-2948/2004/0013-0049

c1afb3813fe0edc9f1602eab9679a992

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ingentaconnect.com%2Fcontent%2Fschweiz%2Fmz%2F2004%2F00000013%2F00000001%2Fart00008

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/schweiz/mz/2004/00000013/00000001/art00008Numerical simulations of the convective system observed during the MAP IOP2a have been performed with the Meso-NH mesoscale model, using a threefold nesting technique with horizontal mesh-sizes of 32, 8 and 2 km. The reference experiment initialized from the operational ECMWF analysis of 17 September 1999 12 UTC succeeds reasonably well in initiating the convective line over the Alpine foothills and reproducing its propagation towards the East. The sensitivity of these results to the reanalysis products is investigated. In the ECMWF MAP reanalysis, the lower atmosphere above Northern Italy is found considerably drier than in the operational analysis. As a consequence, convection is almost entirely inhibited in the mesoscale simulations based upon the reanalysis. Different sensitivity experiments further highlight the strong dependence of the mesoscale results upon the initial moisture fields. Für das konvektive System, das w01hrend MAP IOP2a auftrat, wurden numerische Simulationen durchgeführt mit Hilfe des Mesoskalen-Models Meso-NH in Dreifachnestung mit horizontalen Gitterweiten von 32, 8 und 2 km. Ein Kontrollexperiment, das mit der operationellen ECMWF Analyse am 17. September 1999, 12 UTC, initialisiert wurde, reproduziert die linienartige Konvektion am Alpenrand samt ihrer ostw01rts Verlagerung zufriedenstellend. Die Abh01ngigkeit dieser Befunde von den Ergebnissen der MAP Re-Analyse am ECMWF wird untersucht. Es zeigt sich, dass die untere Atmosph01re über Norditalien deutlich trockener ist als in der operationellen Anaylse. Folglich wird in Simulationen, die auf der Re-Analyse fu08en, Konvektion fast v02llig unterdrückt. Weitere Sensitivit01tsexperimente unterstreichen die starke Abh01ngigkeit der mesoskaligen Ergebnisse von den Feuchtefeldern zum Anfangszeitpunkt.

Li Y. Y., W. Huang, and Zhao, J. Z., 2007: Roles of mesoscale terrain and latent heat release in typhoon precipitation: A numerical case study. Adv. Atmos. Sci.,24(1), 35-43, doi: 10.1007/s00376-007-0035-8.10.1007/s00376-007-0035-8

c74eebbd8716a2adbdfb41973c500c6b

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cqvip.com%2FMain%2FDetail.aspx%3Fid%3D23633563

http://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/Periodical_dqkxjz-e200701004.aspx

May P. T., A. Ballinger, 2007: The statistical characteristics of convective cells in a mnsoon regime (Darwin, Northern Australia). Mon. Wea. Rev., 135( 1), 82- 92.10.1175/MWR3273.1

bf2cb64d80b8e5116f355bcc258d8409

http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D1299020

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1299020A season of operational cell and track data from Darwin, Australia, has been analyzed to explore the statistical characteristics of the convective cell heights. The statistics for the monsoon and break regimes are significantly different with the break season cells being higher for a given reflectivity threshold. The monsoon cells produce more rain, but there are fewer intense cells and there is a much larger contribution from stratiform rain. The monsoon cells are also slightly larger, but shorter lived than the breaks. The shorter lifetime may reflect a more rapid transition to a longer-lived stratiform character. The monsoon regime is shown to be associated with large-scale ascent and higher humidity that may lead to more frequent, but weaker cells. Within regimes, the subset of intense cells generally reach near the tropopause or overshoot. However, there is little evidence in the data for a multimodal distribution of cell heights, except perhaps for the intense monsoon cases. Instead, the picture is a continuous distribution of cell heights with the peak of the distribution shifting to higher values as the distributions are conditioned on higher reflectivity.

Mecikalski J. R., K. M. Bedka, S. J. Paech, and L. A. Litten, 2008: A statistical evaluation of GOES cloud-top properties for nowcasting convective initiation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136( 12), 4899- 4914.10.1175/2008MWR2352.1

a4065047d913ab65c41d3f759d4fa693

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F2008MWRv..136.4899M

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008MWRv..136.4899MThe goal of this project is to validate and extend a study by Mecikalski and Bedka that capitalized on information the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) instruments provide for nowcasting (i.e., 0–1-h forecasting) convective initiation through the real-time monitoring of cloud-top properties for moving cumuli. Convective initiation (CI) is defined as the first occurrence of a ≥35-dBradar echo from a cumuliform cloud. Mecikalski and Bedka’s study concluded that eight infrared GOES-based “interest fields” of growing cumulus clouds should be monitored over 15–30-min intervals toward predicting CI: the transition of cloud-top brightness temperature to below 0°C, cloud-top cooling rates, and instantaneous and time trends of channel differences 6.5–10.7 and 13.3–10.7 m. The study results are as follows: 1) measures of accuracy and uncertainty of Mecikalski and Bedka’s algorithm via commonly used skill scoring procedures, and 2) a report on the relative importance of each interest field to nowcasting CI using GOES. It is found that for nonpropagating convective events, the skill scores are dependent on which CI interest fields are considered per pixel and are optimized when three–four fields are met for a given 1-km GOES pixel in terms of probability of detection, and threat and Heidke skill scores. The lowest false-alarm rates are found when one field is used: that associated with cloud-top glaciation 30 min prior to CI. Subsequent recommendations for future research toward improving Mecikalski and Bedka’s study are suggested especially with regard to constraining CI nowcasts when inhibiting factors are present (e.g., capping inversions).

Mei\ssner, C., N. Kalthoff, M. Kunz, G. Adrian, 2007: Initiation of shallow convection in the Black Forest mountains. Atmos. Res., 86( 1), 42- 60.10.1016/j.atmosres.2007.03.003

c38947ea789d272225e07aff1921acf8

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS016980950700049X

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016980950700049XThe temporal evolution and spatial distribution of shallow convection over complex terrain are examined by observational data and compared with model calculations using the Local Model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst with 2.8 km (LM2.8) and 7 km horizontal resolution (LM7). For this, the 01 June 2002 was chosen from the VERTIKATOR (Vertical Exchange and Orography) measurement campaign performed in the northern Black Forest mountains. On this day shallow convection was restricted to the mountainous regions. This can be explained by the fact that the conditions of initiation of convection, i.e. that the near-surface temperature reaches the convective temperature, are only met at upper sites of the mountains. Additionally, the initiation of convection over the mountain ridges is enhanced by up-slope and up-valley winds, generating convergence zones over the ridges. The resulting vertical lifting supports convective processes. The areas of convergence primarily comply with the areas of convection, as confirmed by satellite images from NOAA. The LM2.8 and LM7 simulations do not show significant differences concerning the large-scale meteorological conditions. However, LM2.8 better reproduces the near-surface temperature and humidity at most sites leading to a more realistic representation of convective clouds. Another important difference concerns the near-surface winds, that is only LM2.8 reproduces the main characteristics of the thermally induced wind systems which prove to support convection. Convergence zones and upward lifting is simulated by LM2.8 above the mountain crests resulting in the accompanied formation of clouds. The onset and position of simulated convective clouds generally fit with the observations. In contrast to LM2.8, LM7 simulates clouds above the transition zone between the northern Black Forest and the Rhine valley, where the large-scale easterly flow converges with the channelled northerly wind over the Rhine valley, that is, the position does not agree with the observations.

Purdom J. F. W., K. Marcus, 1982: Thunderstorm trigger mechanisms over the southeast U. S. Preprints, 12th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, San Antonio, TX, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 487- 488.

Raymond D., M. Wilkening, 1980: Mountain-induced convection under fair weather conditions. J. Atmos. Sci., 37( 12), 2693- 2706.10.1175/1520-0469(1980)0372.0.CO;2

e90c17ac3056f7d4419ea79bcef51bd7

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F1980JAtS...37.2693R

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980JAtS...37.2693RMeasurements of the structure of dry convection over an isolated mountain range heated by the sun are presented. Filter techniques are used to deduce those scales of motion of significance to the circulation. A two-scale process is observed in which a toroidal, heat island circulation 6520 km in diameter is driven by 3–4 km convective eddies. Large negative heat fluxes are found in the upper part of the convective core over the mountains.

Roe G. H., 2005: Orographic precipitation. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 33, 645- 671.

Rudari R., D. Enteldaabi, and G. Roth, 2004: Terrain and multiple-scale interactions as factors in generating extreme precipitation events. J. Hydrometeor., 5( 3), 390- 404.10.1175/1525-7541(2004)0052.0.CO;2

584da044fff7ec5c6e7dd6e49585553a

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F2004jhyme...5..390r

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004jhyme...5..390rAbstract The Mediterranean region is often affected by flooding and landslides due to heavy precipitation events. These events have been the subject of specific interest because they represent complex interaction of synoptic-scale upper-level steering flows and local topographic barriers. In the present work, data from a dense network of surface precipitation gauges over northern Italy and a global atmospheric analysis at a coarser scale are combined to develop a multiscale diagnostic model of the phenomenon. Composite maps are formed based on departures from climatology and standard deviation of sea level pressure, 500-hPa geopotential, wind, and water vapor flux. A diagnostic model is built based on the evidence that shows the spawning of secondary mesoscale features in the steering synoptic flow. The mesoscale features draw moisture and energy from local sources and cause extreme precipitation events over adjoining areas. The primary trough system steering the flow often originates in the North Sea and...

Smith R. B., 1979: The influence of mountains on the atmosphere. Advances in Geophysics, 21, 87- 230.698ce93fbbecc0a30c85fd103b73130c

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0065268708602629

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065268708602629The chapter reviews the meteorological phenomena that are associated with topography. The study of airflow past mountains is complicated by the wide range of scales that must be considered. The ratios of the mountain width to each of the natural length scales are important in determining the physical regime of the flow. This idea is emphasized in the chapter by treating the effects of boundary layers and buoyancy. The theory of two-dimensional mountain waves with the help of its governing equations is presented and the observations of mountain waves are presented. The chapter also examines the influence of the boundary layer on mountain flows and slope winds and mountain and valley winds. It considers the perturbation to the wind flow caused by a mountain of intermediate scale where the rotation of the Earth cannot be neglected. For this the flow near mesoscale and synoptic-scale mountains, quasi-geostrophic flow over a mountain, the effect of inertia on the flow over mesoscale mountains, and theories of lee cyclogenesis are discussed. Finally the chapter describes planetary-scale mountain waves; a vertically integrated model of topographically forced planetary waves; the vertical structure of planetary waves; models of stationary planetary waves allowing meridional propagation and lateral; and variation in the background wind.

Tao S. Y., 1980: Heavy Rainfalls in China. Science Press, 225pp. (in Chinese)

Toth J. J., R. H. Johnson, 1985: Summer surface flow characteristics over Northeast Colorado. Mon. Wea. Rev., 113( 9), 1458- 1469.10.1175/1520-0493(1985)1132.0.CO;2

8377a8d5ff89ae272c6091593e6d4c93

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F1985MWRv..113.1458T

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985MWRv..113.1458TAbstract Surface wind data from the program for Regional Observing and Forecasting Services (PROFS) have been analyzed to investigate the diurnal wind flow pattern over the broad drainage are of the South Platte River in northeast Colorado. A consistent diurnal pattern appears in monthly averages as well as on most undisturbed individual days, and is similar to the classic descriptions of mountain-valley wind flows. It is observed that rather than occurring simultaneously at all elevations, downslope-to-upslope and upslope-to-downslope surface flow transitions along the Front Range of northeast Colorado begin near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and propagate eastward across the plains. During the summer months, local confluence is found at midday along major east-west ridges in the region (e.g., Cheyenne Ridge and Palmer Lake Divide). Consequently, in addition to the north–south Continental Divide, these east–west ridges are preferred regions for initial afternoon thunderstorm development The late a...

Weckwerth T. M., 2000: The effect of small-scale moisture variability on thunderstorm initiation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128( 12), 4017- 4030.10.1175/1520-0493(2000)1292.0.CO;2

ecae4ececa2347a1ffd4b7ff2cb6ec70

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F2000mwrv..128.4017w

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000mwrv..128.4017wObservations during the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification (CaPE) project illustrate that horizontal convective rolls are capable of providing sufficient forcing to initiate free moist convection. Rolls occurred on the majority of days during CaPE but on only some of those days were they able to trigger thunderstorms. This study was undertaken to ascertain the difference between the two types of roll days: the storm days and the no-storm days. All obvious sounding parameters were examined: stability parameters, midlevel moisture, and vertical wind shear. None of them showed a difference between the storm and no-storm days. This is not surprising in light of recent work showing that soundings within rolls are not representative of the environmental stability unless they happen to be launched into roll updraft branches. This is due to the upward transport of warm, moist air in the roll updraft regions atop which cloud streets and sometimes thunderstorms form. Numerous other parameters examined were also fruitless in identifying any difference between the days. These included surface station measurements, cell motion relative to roll updraft locations, surface topography, and roll circulation strength and depth. The only useful predictor was obtained by modifying the soundings using aircraft data as they were flying across the rolls and sampling moisture contained within the roll updraft branches. Using these roll updraft moisture measurements to recalculate sounding stability parameters provided an effective means of predicting thunderstorm formation.

Weckwerth T. M., L. J. Bennett, L. J. Miller, J. Van Baelen, P. Di Girolamo, A. M. Blyth, and T. J. Hertneky, 2014: An observational and modeling study of the processes leading to deep, moist convection in complex terrain. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142( 8), 2687- 2708.10.1175/MWR-D-13-00216.1

8e91d84dd633e7a4a28e4d9bee4c77cc

http%3A%2F%2Fconnection.ebscohost.com%2Fc%2Farticles%2F97319535%2Fobservational-modeling-study-processes-leading-deep-moist-convection-complex-terrain

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/97319535/observational-modeling-study-processes-leading-deep-moist-convection-complex-terrainAbstractA case study of orographic convection initiation (CI) that occurred along the eastern slopes of the Vosges Mountains in France on 6 August 2007 during the Convective and Orographically-Induced Precipitation Study (COPS) is presented. Global positioning system (GPS) receivers and two Doppler on Wheels (DOW) mobile radars sampled the preconvective and storm environments and were respectively used to retrieve three-dimensional tomographic water vapor and wind fields. These retrieved data were supplemented with temperature, moisture, and winds from radiosondes from a site in the eastern Rhine Valley. High-resolution numerical simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model were used to further investigate the physical processes leading to convective precipitation.This unique, time-varying combination of derived water vapor and winds from observations illustrated an increase in low-level moisture and convergence between upslope easterlies and downslope westerlies along the eastern slo...

Wilson J. W., W. E. Schreiber, 1986: Initiation of convective storms at radar-observed boundary-layer convergence lines. Mon. Wea. Rev., 114( 12), 2516- 1536.10.1175/1520-0493(1986)1142.0.CO;2

7bbb5251b6fddec45bac08b7c7d2e2fa

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F1986MWRv..114.2516W

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1986MWRv..114.2516WAbstract The origin of 653 convective storms occurring over a 5000 km2 area immediately east of the Colorado Rocky Mountains from 18 May to 15 August 1984 was examined. Seventy-nine percent of the 418 storms that initiated within the study area occurred in close proximity to radar-observed boundary-layer convergence lines. This percentage increased to 95% when only the more intense storms (BZe) were considered. Colliding convergence lines initiated new storms or intensified existing storms in 71% of the cases. A new storm took a median time of 24 min to grow to 30 dBZ following line collision. The convergence lines ranged in length between ten and several hundred kilometers. Both radar and mesonet stations indicated that the primary convergence was concentrated in a zone 0.5 to 5 km in width. These lines were characterized on Doppler radar as thin lines of enhanced reflectivity between 0 and 20 dBZe and as a line of strong radial or azimuthal gradient in Doppler velocity. These lines were observed ev...

Xu X., Q. W. Wang, and Y. Wang, 2010: On the contribution of upslope precipitation to the observational precipitation over southeastern China. Journal of Nanjing University (Natural Sciences), 46( 6), 625- 630. (in Chinese)10.3788/gzxb20103906.0998

d8e5f0220291b4f6815875519a7939f4

http%3A%2F%2Fen.cnki.com.cn%2FArticle_en%2FCJFDTOTAL-njdz201006004.htm

http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-njdz201006004.htmPossible contribution of upslope precipitation to the observational precipitation over southeastern China is studied using the daily precipitation data of 84 stations and 0.5°×0.5° topography data.The reanalysis datasets of wind,temperature and humidity with a resolution of 20 km×20 km from Japan Meteorological Agency are used to calculate the upslope precipitation.The results show that upslope precipitation has the largest contribution to the observational precipitation in the northern part of southeastern China,while it is much smaller in the central region.The meridional distribution of upslope precipitation in the observational precipitation is in good agreement with that of topography gradient,indicating the notable influence of topography on the precipitation over southeastern China.

Yue C. J., S. T. Gao, L. Liu, and X. F. Li, 2005: A diagnostic study of the asymmetric distribution of rainfall during the landfall of typhoon Haitang (2005). Adv. Atmos. Sci.,32(10), 1419-1430, doi: 10.1007/s00376-015-4246-0.10.1007/s00376-015-4246-0

118d8fdbf47c845ab4aa5bbfa4c6f4c5

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cqvip.com%2FQK%2F84334X%2F201510%2F665874442.html

http://d.wanfangdata.com.cn/Periodical/dqkxjz-e201510009The precipitation during landfall of typhoon Haitang(2005) showed asymmetric structures(left side/right side of the track). Analysis of Weather Research and Forecasting model simulation data showed that rainfall on the right side was more than 15 times stronger than on the left side. The causes were analyzed by focusing on comparing the water vapor flux,stability and upward motion between the two sides. The major results were as follows:(1) Relative humidity on both sides was over80%,whereas the convergence of water vapor flux in the lower troposphere was about 10 times larger on the right side than on the left side.(2) Both sides featured conditional symmetric instability [MPV(moist potential vorticity) 0],but the right side was more unstable than the left side.(3) Strong(weak) upward motion occurred throughout the troposphere on the right(left) side. The Q vector diagnosis suggested that large-scale and mesoscale forcing accounted for the difference in vertical velocity. Orographic lift and surface friction forced the development of the asymmetric precipitation pattern. On the right side,strong upward motion from the forcing of different scale weather systems and topography caused a substantial release of unstable energy and the transportation of water vapor from the lower to the upper troposphere,which produced torrential rainfall. However,the above conditions on the left side were all much weaker,which led to weaker rainfall. This may have been the cause of the asymmetric distribution of rainfall during the landfall of typhoon Haitang.

Zhang G. J., 2003: Roles of tropospheric and boundary layer forcing in the diurnal cycle of convection in the U. S. southern great plains. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30( 24), 2281.10.1029/2003GL018554

fb9f519d002557e4317934ef56f9c08a

http%3A%2F%2Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2F10.1029%2F2003GL018554%2Fabstract

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2003GL018554/abstract[1] This study examines the roles of the tropospheric large-scale forcing, surface sensible and latent heat fluxes and convective inhibition in the diurnal variation of convection in the U.S. Southern Great Plains using data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program. It is shown that the diurnal variation of the tropospheric large-scale forcing has a strong in-phase relationship with convection, whereas the diurnal variations of surface sensible and latent heat fluxes as well as the thermodynamic properties of the near-surface air are nearly out of phase with that of convection. Both the single column version and the full global model of the NCAR CCM3 are used to test the roles of the tropospheric and boundary layer forcing in the observed diurnal variation of convection. When convection is parameterized based on the tropospheric large-scale forcing, the diurnal variation of convection is in good agreement with the observations.

Ziegler C. L., T. J. Lee, and R. A. Pielke, 1997: Convective initiation at the dryline: A modeling study. Mon. Wea. Rev., 125( 6), 1001- 1026.10.1175/1520-0493(1997)1252.0.CO;2

2d2d7c48669e34103f397cb7f43591ae

http%3A%2F%2Fadsabs.harvard.edu%2Fabs%2F1997MWRv..125.1001Z

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997MWRv..125.1001ZAbstract A nonhydrostatic, three-dimensional version of the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (CSU-RAMS) is used to deduce the processes responsible for the formation of drylines and the subsequent initiation of deep, moist dryline convection. A range of cumuliform cloud types are explicitly simulated along drylines on 15, 16, and 26 May 1991 in accordance with observations. In the simulations, narrow convergence bands along the dryline provide the lift to initiate deep moist convection. The thermally direct secondary convective boundary layer (CBL) circulations along the dryline are frontogenetic and solenoidally forced. Maximum updrafts reach 5 m s611 and the bands are 3–9 km wide and 10–100 km or more in length. The updrafts penetrate and are decelerated by the overlying stable air above the CBL, reaching depths of about 2000 m in the cases studied. Moisture convergence along the mesoscale updraft bands destabilizes the local sounding to deep convection, while simultaneously...