Ice Initiation by Mesoscale Features: Observations from the SNOWIE Field Program

The SNOWIE field program conducted during the winter of 2017 in Idaho had two main goals: 1) to understand the impact of airborne and ground based seeding on orographic clouds, and 2) to understand the physics and dynamics of natural orographic clouds. This study examines the development of ice in un-seeded orographic clouds. In particular, we examine whether ice formation is associated with the presence of mesoscale features such as embedded convection, K-H waves, and gravity waves. The data used to perform this analysis are the w-band radar data collected by the Wyoming King Air flying along an RHI scan conducted by a DOW radar and in-situ Wyoming King air microphysical data. The presentation will focus on two contrasting cases, one with and the other without significant ice. The SNOWIE field program was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Idaho Power Corporation.