Observations of cold pool properties in mesoscale convective systems during BAMEX

Several studies have identified the surface-based cold pool as a critical factor in the organization of deep convection. Therefore, we utilize soundings from the Bow Echo and MCV Experiment (BAMEX) to document cold pool properties in midlatitude, continental, warm-season mesoscale convective systems. The analyses show that the observed cold pools are often considerably deeper than those in idealized numerical modeling papers. Half of the cases had cold pools greater than 4 km deep. Overall cold pool intensity, as quantified by a measure of vertically integrated negative buoyancy, was also larger than values quoted in many studies based on numerical simulations. Unfortunately, cold pool intensity cannot be determined directly by the operational observing network in the United States. Therefore, this study includes an analysis of the ability to infer cold pool intensity using only surface observations.