Mesoscale Convective Systems during 2011 Identified from Surface Pressure Array

Mesoscale convective systems induce pressure perturbations that affect precipitation distributions and contribute to high winds capable resulting in concerns for damage to life and property.  Prominent pressure perturbations are identified during the 2011 spring and summer using a unique resource of 1 Hz pressure observations available from the USArray Transportable Array (TA) seismic field campaign. Station time series within the TA domain indicated a prominent region of mesoscale perturbation activity across the central United States during this period, coincident with many previous climatological studies. Using a two-dimensional variational approach, surface pressure analysis grids at temporal frequencies of 5 min and spatial resolution of 5 km were produced from 1 March – 31 August 2011 over the domain covered by the TA.  Band-pass filtering techniques and feature tracking algorithms were employed to identify prominent mesoscale pressure perturbations and their properties.  Case studies of prominent events and aggregate summary statistics for the period sampled are provided with a focus on high-impact events that produce wind damage. Extension of this work to utilize high-temporal frequency surface pressure observations throughout the United States will be  discussed.