Wednesday, 19 June 2002
Study of the convection over Monte Rosa using S-pol obervations and fine scale Meso-NH simulations
The presentation is based on the observations of the Spol radar to
validate the fine scale Meso-NH simulations.
The two days of the IOP2 (19-20 September 1999) are concerned by a strong
prefrontal convection associated with multiple arrivals of moist low-levels
zones impinging the coastal orographies (French Alps and Apennines).
Some of these convective coastal episods propagated in the
stationnary South-West upper-levels flow towards the Lago Maggiore target
area(LMTA).
The duration of the precipitation is very long and the hourly amounts are
not very strong.
An eastern low-levels flow localised in the north part of the Po
valley(Fig1: Backward trajectories of low-level flow)
is modulated by the barrier wind, the Thyrrenean sea entry, and the
Adriatic sea entry. The intensification of the convection over the Monte
Rosa eastern slopes is correlated with the intensity of this eastern
low-level jet(Fig2: Rain around Mt Rosa and wind at the Spol location).
The cape values keep rather homogeneous and weak inside the Po valley. The
high cape values present over the Mediterranean sea and the Ligurian sea give
intense convective events over Maritim Alps and Apennines. This last
orography looks like a barrier for the maritim boundary layer and thus
provides a protection from severe convection over LMTA.
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