As more people live and work in large metropolitan areas, it is critical to understand the meteorological phenomena in cities. During June and July 2003, the Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) field project occurred in downtown Oklahoma City. JU2003 was the largest urban dispersion experiment ever conducted in North America and focused on understanding atmospheric processes within the urban environment. As such, an extremely dense observing network was installed in and around downtown Oklahoma City including over 140 3-D sonic anemometers for surface-based and tower-based measurements, 13 2-D sonic anemometers, over 30 surface meteorological stations, seven surface energy budget stations, two CTI wind tracer lidars, three radiosonde systems, three wind profiler/RASS systems, one FM-CW radar, three ceilometers, and nine sodars (including midi- and mini-sodars). The JU2003 instrumentation was supported by observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet, four WSR-88D Doppler radars, and the OUN upper air station.

During the early morning hours of 30 July 2003, convective storms moved through the Oklahoma City metro area. The convective system included some severe storms which produced winds in excess of 80 mph in the suburban areas. The combination of observations collected by instruments involved in JU2003 and the existing networks in Oklahoma provide a unique opportunity to study the impacts of convection on urban areas. Thus, this study provides a preliminary analysis of convection on the urban environment of Oklahoma City. In particular, the study focuses on the impact of convective outflow within the central business district and urban canyons of Oklahoma City.