Convective Storm Life Cycle and Environments Near the Sierras De Córdoba, Argentina

Satellite observations reveal that some of the world’s most intense convective storms occur near the Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina, South America. A C-band, dual-polarization Doppler weather radar installed in the city of Córdoba in 2015 is now providing high-resolution radar observations in this region. Radar data from two austral spring and summer seasons (2015–2017) are used to document the convective life cycle, while reanalysis data are utilized to construct storm environments across this region. Our results indicate that most of the storms in the region are multicellular and initiate most frequently during the early afternoon and late evening hours near and just east of the Sierras de Córdoba; however, many supercell events are also documented. Annually, the peak occurrence of these storms is during the austral summer months of December, January, and February. These Córdoba ground radar-based statistics are shown to be comparable to statistics derived from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar data. While generally similar to storm environments in the USA, storm environments in Central Argentina tend to be characterized by larger CAPE and weaker low-level vertical wind shear. One of the more intriguing results is the relatively fast transition from first storms to larger mesoscale convective systems compared with locations in the Central USA.