Ultra-High-Resolution Aircraft Icing Forecasting during the ICICLE Field Project

The FAA‑funded In-Cloud ICing and Large drop Experiment (ICICLE) presented a watershed moment to test modern era high resolution numerical model forecasts of supercooled liquid water. Furthermore, the field campaign was relatively unique in its opportunity to assess the explicit prediction between small droplet in-cloud icing and freezing drizzle and freezing rain. This talk will show case study results from two flights on 17 Feb 2019 that included multiple hours in freezing drizzle conditions in addition to ice pellets, snow grains, and the more commonly measured in-cloud small droplet icing. Numerical model results using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with 600‑meter grid spacing and the Thompson and Eidhammer (2014) aerosol-aware microphysics scheme are compared against aircraft measurements of aerosol concentration, particle size distributions of water and ice, and on-board radar data as well as surface observations and satellite brightness temperatures.

This research is in response to requirements and funding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the FAA.