This paper serves as a pairing of Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) observations and idealized Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulations aimed at assessing the role of cloud-top radiative cooling and sublimational cooling on the dynamics of generating cells. Simulations with very small horizontal grid spacing (~50 m) are required due to the small spatial scale of the generating cells. The resolution of both the WRF simulations and WCR observations (~30 m resolution) are unprecedented for winter cyclones, and thus these complementary datasets allow investigations on the interplay of cooling and dynamics. In this paper the simulated bulk characteristics of generating cells in the context of the PLOWS WCR observations are discussed. Specific comparisons will include Contoured Frequency by Altitude Displays (CFADs) of simulated vertical velocity to CFADs of WCR radial velocity corrected for particle fall speed, and Fourier analyses of vertical velocities at the generating cell level to determine cell spacing. Comparisons of bulk characteristics of the generating cells observed by the WCR and output by WRF are particularly useful as an indication of how well the simulations represent what occurred in nature, and thus the utility of the simulations for hypothesis testing.
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