Diagnosis of Turbulence Associated with Convection As Part of the Graphical Turbulence Guidance Product

Convective-induced turbulence is of significant concern to aviation, as it impacts flight safety and airspace capacity. Over the continental United States, NCAR’s graphical turbulence guidance product (GTG) provides forecasts of clear-air turbulence (CAT) and mountain wave turbulence (MWT), but has not yet focused specifically on convectively-induced turbulence (CIT) forecasts.  Turbulence associated with convection has been observed in-cloud and also out-of-cloud.  Case studies of the performance of various candidate CIT diagnostics for the use in a new version of GTG will be presented for both in-cloud and out-of-cloud turbulence, based on comparisons to in-cloud energy dissipation rate (EDR) estimates from the NEXRAD turbulence detection algorithm (NTDA) and in situ EDR measurements.

“This research is in response to requirements and funding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or position of the FAA.”