Thunderstorm outflow boundaries are often observed by Doppler radar. During July 2002, the NASA polarimetric (NPOL) Doppler 10 cm radar was deployed in South Florida for the NASA Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE). During the experiment, NPOL observed a large number of outflow boundaries. Often times these boundaries collided with one another which resulted in the development of new convection.

This study focuses on understanding the outflow boundary characteristics observed by the NPOL radar. Various qualities of colliding outflow boundaries are examined in order to understand the differences between convective and non-convective collisions, including: the relative angle of each boundary before collision, their relative directions of propagation, strength of the outflow, and distance from initiating storms. Thermodynamic conditions for convective and non-convective collisions will be examined. Preliminary results indicate that 45% of collisions result in new convection, which are often more intense than the parent storms that formed the outflow boundaries.