Investigating the Modification of Thunderstorms by the Oklahoma City Urban Heat Island

Over the past several decades, Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) have been found in cities

worldwide. While multiple studies suggest that UHIs can locally modify convection, few have

attempted to quantify the convective changes. This study investigates the modification of

preexisting convection as it crosses over the Oklahoma City (OKC) metropolitan area during

which a definitive UHI is present. Three cases of convective modification were drawn from

precipitation and temperature records from the OKC Micronet and Oklahoma Mesonet databases

as well as the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) severe weather events archive between the years of

2008-2012. Six storms were analyzed as they passed over and around the OKC metropolitan

area by documenting changes in composite reflectivity and storm echo top. Additionally,

environmental analyses were conducted using OKC Micronet data to gauge the impact of the

OKC UHI on convective parameters. It was found that each of the six storms that interacted

with the OKC UHI exhibited reflectivity factor pulses within an hour of interaction. However,

the magnitudes of each pulse were found to be quantitatively indifferent to those outside of the

OKC UHI. It was also found that temperature excesses owing to UHIs lead to slightly more

unstable environments with less capping compared to surrounding rural areas.