EnKF assimilation of single-elevation, near-surface radar data beneath a supercell: OSSE explorations

Results presented at a prior conference (26SLS) appeared to show that the assimilation via EnKF of a small number of supplemental, near-surface Doppler velocity observations collected beneath the updraft of a mature supercell enhanced the spread of an ensemble of model forecasts. In this study, we use an OSSE framework to explore the effects of assimilating such supplemental Doppler velocity observations on near-surface wind fields, storm characteristics at all levels, and ensemble spread statistics. Guidance will be provided on the targeting of supplemental radar observations of supercells for data assimilation studies.