Storm-scale Data Assimilation and Its Impact on Numerical Prediction of Thunderstorms

With the increase of computer power and availability of high-resolution observing networks, operational numerical models have been pushed to higher resolutions and greater levels of sophistication. One of the challenges in numerical prediction using high-resolution numerical models is the initialization of these models. Since the last decade, active research has been conducted to investigate and develop methods for the initialization of convective-scale numerical models using observations that can resolve the structures of convective clouds through advanced data assimilation techniques. In this presentation, research on this topic will be reviewed, problems pertinent to the convective-scale data assimilation will be addressed, and the current status of research will be presented. Results obtained from studies on assimilation of multiple WSR-88D observations into cloud-scale models using different techniques and their impact on the numerical prediction of thunderstorms will be presented and discussed.