Toward an analysis of the influence of the urban heat island effect on single-cell convective trajectories

This paper is an initial analysis of how the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect influences convective cloud trajectories. Case studies have been done in the past that demonstrate the observed movement of convective storms around various urban areas. This analysis uses the GOES-East satellite to track single-cell convective cloud towers (SCCTs) and the algorithm for following the SCCT tracks them using infrared data from satellite observations taken at 15-minute intervals. Matlab was then used to filter and extract suitable trajectories by using thresholds on both speed and direction. Following the filters to determine viable trajectories, another algorithm was developed to determine where along the trajectory there existed a significant deviation in the propagation of the particular SCCT. After these specific perturbations in trajectory angle were found, they were then cross-referenced with locations of urban areas in the domain using a density plot to determine where the highest concentration of significant perturbation points occurred.