13th Conference on Mountain Meteorology

P2.13

Surface layer observations from a network of 22 automatic weather stations covering the northern COPS region, with case study of MCS passage on 20th July 2007

Victoria H. Smith, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom; and S. D. Mobbs, M. Hobby, A. Gohm, and S. Hölzl

During July & August 2007, the University of Leeds installed a network of 12 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) in the Northern part of the COPS region as part of a larger network that included a further 10, deployed by the University of Innsbruck. Sites were chosen to provide surface observations in four categories relating to the region's orography. These were; Inflow valleys, Mountain Ridges, Convection Hotspot & Westerly Upslope Flow. Here, an overview of the quality & availability of both data sets is presented, with a greater focus on that collected by the Leeds stations.

Observations recorded by the Leeds AWS's included analogue temperature at 2 heights, digital temperature & humidity, 2-Dimensional windspeed & direction, and pressure. Precipitation rates were also measured at 6 of the Leeds sites as part of the Innsbruck deployment.

A case study is presented, showing passage of a Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) on 20th July (IOP 9c). Very interesting flow features were captured, with wind data showing the apparent decoupling of N-S aligned valley flow, from those aloft. One suggested interpretation is that the steep gradient of the Murg Valley has in this case effected a sheltering influence on the synoptic-scale Westerly flow.

Poster Session 2, Mountain Meteorology Poster Session 2
Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM, Sea to Sky Ballroom A

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