Studying the Live Cycles of Convective Cells in the Upper Rhine Valley

The upper Rhine valley is an exemplary region to study the impact of orography on the growth and decay of convective systems. Using the cell tracking algorithm TRACE3D on the data of the C-band radar of the IMK (Institute for meteorology and climate research) the temporal evolution of several properties of individual storms, such as location, size, echo top, intensity and so on, can be investigated. At a first glance the procedure deliveres a statistical description of typical convective cells in this region. But a further investigation allows to derive the spatial distribution of regions where thunderstorms grow and where they decay. The influence of the orography on the motion of storms might be identified by the angle between the wind flow and the storm motion. This talk presents preliminary results from the investigation of storm data of the year 1999.