Recorded presentation2.4
Surface boundaries of the Southern Plains: Their role in convective initiation
Howard B. Bluestein, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Fred Sanders has long been interested in the properties and dynamics of surface boundaries. In the mid 1960s he and his students pioneered the use of data from a surface mesonet and instrumented tower in central Oklahoma to study frontal behavior. He has also, despite his residence far from locales of frequent severe convective activity, conducted observational studies of convective initiation. The purpose of this talk is to review what we have learned about surface boundaries in the convectively active Southern Plains, how they are related to their synoptic-scale environment and local topography, and what role(s), if any, they play in convective initiation. Surface boundaries to be considered are fronts, the dryline, prefrontal troughs, outflow boundaries, and meridionally oriented troughs in easterly flow (A.K.A. “inverted troughs”). The phenonemon known anecdotally as “Six O’Clock Magic” along the dryline, the preference for storm initation at the dryline-front intersection, when fronts breed squall lines and when they induce isolated cells, what happens when supercells cross surface boundaries, etc. will be discussed briefly. Example cases will be shown using data from the Oklahoma Mesonet and the conventional synoptic network. Recent examples of analyses of mobile Doppler radar data collected across the dryline and across a front during IHOP (International H2O Project) will also be shown. Candidate topics for future studies will be suggested. Recorded presentation
Session 2, Mesoscale Weather Systems (Room 617)
Monday, 12 January 2004, 10:45 AM-12:00 PM, Room 617
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