Evaluation of persistent cold season cold air pools in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah

The field component of the Persistent Cold Air Pool Study (PCAPS) will take place from 1 Dec 2010 to 7 Feb 2011 in Utah's Salt Lake Valley. Past studies of cold-air pools have focused primarily on their diurnal buildup and breakdown with less attention placed on the formation and demise of persistent, multi-day cold-air pools prevalent in the complex terrain of the Western United States. Rawinsonde observations from the Salt Lake City airport are used to characterize objectively the intensity, seasonality, and vertical structure of cold-air pools during previous winters in the Salt Lake Valley. The occurrence of well-mixed (and often saturated) layers within cold-air pools are tabulated relative to ones that remain unsaturated throughout the event.