Penn State's NARHWAL: Novel Atmospheric Research on High-impact Weather Applications Laboratory

The Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Meteorology & Atmospheric Science recently acquired a Special Services Edition Chevy Tahoe to serve as a multifunctional research vehicle for mesoscale meteorological phenomena, named the Novel Atmospheric Research on High-impact Weather Applications Laboratory (NARHWAL). The NARHWAL is outfitted with a custom-built metal hail protection cage, integrated with a metal rack and elevated instrument mast equipped with “mobile mesonet” instrumentation capable of measuring wind speed and direction (corrected for vehicle motion), temperature, relative humidity, and pressure. In addition, NARHWAL is equipped to carry up to two full-sized Helium tanks for radiosonde and Windsonde launches, has an onboard freezer for hailstone collection and preservation, as well as a mobile hail cross-sectioning unit. Situational awareness and communication are achieved by an onboard navigation computer and VHF radio system. NARHWAL is reconfigurable and has available space and power available for future additional measurement capabilities.

This presentation will outline the NARHWAL’s measurement capabilities and instrument specifications. Additionally, we will show results from the NARHWAL’s deployments as part of the 2023 and 2024 IBHS Hail Field Project, including Windsonde launches into >40 m s^-1 supercell updrafts and in-situ measurements in hail larger than baseballs, and discuss future planned instrumentation for the upcoming ICECHIP field project.

The NARHWAL facilitates collection of crucial and unique observations in high-impact mesoscale phenomena, including supercells and hailstorms, mesoscale convective systems, and snow squalls, and provides an avenue for participation in federal- and private-funded field campaigns. In addition, NARHWAL provides undergraduate and graduate students hands-on opportunities for engaged scholarship and serves as a vessel for public outreach.