scholarly journals The Role of Surface Drag in Mesocyclone Intensification Leading to Tornadogenesis within an Idealized Supercell Simulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 3055-3077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Roberts ◽  
Ming Xue
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Surface Friction ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Surface Drag ◽  
Vertical Pressure ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Key Factor

Abstract The idealized supercell simulations in a previous study by Roberts et al. are further analyzed to clarify the physical mechanisms leading to differences in mesocyclone intensification between an experiment with surface friction applied to the full wind (FWFRIC) and an experiment with friction applied to the environmental wind only (EnvFRIC). The low-level mesocyclone intensifies rapidly during the 3 min preceding tornadogenesis in FWFRIC, while the intensification during the same period is much weaker in EnvFRIC, which fails to produce a tornado. To quantify the mechanisms responsible for this discrepancy in mesocyclone evolution, material circuits enclosing the low-level mesocyclone are initialized and traced back in time, and circulation budgets for these circuits are analyzed. The results show that in FWFRIC, surface drag directly generates a substantial proportion of the final circulation around the mesocyclone, especially below 1 km AGL; in EnvFRIC, circulation budgets indicate the mesocyclone circulation is overwhelmingly barotropic. It is proposed that the import of near-ground, frictionally generated vorticity into the low-level mesocyclone in FWFRIC is a key factor causing the intensification and lowering of the mesocyclone toward the ground, creating a large upward vertical pressure gradient force that leads to tornadogenesis. Similar circulation analyses are also performed for circuits enclosing the tornado at its genesis stage. The frictionally generated circulation component is found to contribute more than half of the final circulation for circuits enclosing the tornado vortex below 400 m AGL, and the frictional contribution decreases monotonically with the height of the final circuit.

scholarly journals On the fine vertical structure of the low troposphere over the coastal margins of East Antarctica

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Étienne Vignon ◽  
Olivier Traullé ◽  
Alexis Berne
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Humidity Profiles

Abstract. Eight years of high-resolution radiosonde data at nine Antarctic stations are analysed to provide the first large scale characterization of the fine scale vertical structure of the low troposphere up to 3 km of altitude over the coastal margins of East Antarctica. Radiosonde data show a large spatial variability of wind, temperature and humidity profiles, with different features between stations in katabatic regions (e.g., Dumont d'Urville and Mawson stations), stations over two ice shelves (Neumayer and Halley stations) and regions with complex orography (e.g., Mc Murdo). At Dumont d'Urville, Mawson and Davis stations, the yearly median wind speed profiles exhibit a clear low-level katabatic jet. During precipitation events, the low-level flow generally remains of continental origin and its speed is even reinforced due to the increase in the continent- ocean pressure gradient. Meanwhile, the relative humidity profiles show a dry low troposphere, suggesting the occurence of low-level sublimation of precipitation in katabatic regions but such a phenomenon does not appreciably occur over the ice-shelves near Halley and Neumayer. Although ERA-Interim and ERA5 reanalyses assimilate radiosoundings at most stations considered here, substantial – and sometimes large – low-level wind and humidity biases are revealed but ERA5 shows overall better performances. A free simulation with the regional model Polar WRF (at a 35-km resolution) over the entire continent shows too strong and too shallow near-surface jets in katabatic regions especially in winter. This may be a consequence of an understimated coastal cold air bump and associated sea-continent pressure gradient force due to the coarse 35 km resolution of the Polar WRF simulation. Beyond documenting the vertical structure of the low troposphere over coastal East-Antarctica, this study gives insights into the reliability and accuracy of two major reanalysis products in this region on the Earth and it raises the difficulty of modeling the low-level flow over the margins of the ice sheet with a state-of-the-art climate model.

Processes Preventing the Development of a Significant Tornado in a Colorado Supercell on 26 May 2010

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (5) ◽  
pp. 1753-1778
Author(s):  
Shawn S. Murdzek ◽  
Paul M. Markowski ◽  
Yvette P. Richardson ◽  
Robin L. Tanamachi
Keyword(s):  
Small Radius ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Far Field ◽  
Streamwise Vorticity ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Precipitation Region ◽  
Negative Buoyancy

Abstract A supercell produced a nearly tornadic vortex during an intercept by the Second Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment on 26 May 2010. Using observations from two mobile radars performing dual-Doppler scans, a five-probe mobile mesonet, and a proximity sounding, factors that prevented this vortex from strengthening into a significant tornado are examined. Mobile mesonet observations indicate that portions of the supercell outflow possessed excessive negative buoyancy, likely owing in part to low boundary layer relative humidity, as indicated by a high environmental lifted condensation level. Comparisons to a tornadic supercell suggest that the Prospect Valley storm had enough far-field circulation to produce a significant tornado, but was unable to converge this circulation to a sufficiently small radius. Trajectories suggest that the weak convergence might be due to the low-level mesocyclone ingesting parcels with considerable crosswise vorticity from the near-storm environment, which has been found to contribute to less steady and weaker low-level updrafts in supercell simulations. Yet another factor that likely contributed to the weak low-level circulation was the inability of parcels rich in streamwise vorticity from the forward-flank precipitation region to reach the low-level mesocyclone, likely owing to an unfavorable pressure gradient force field. In light of these results, we suggest that future research should continue focusing on the role of internal, storm-scale processes in tornadogenesis, especially in marginal environments.

scholarly journals Low-Level Easterly Winds Blowing through the Tsugaru Strait, Japan. Part II: Numerical Simulation of the Event on 5–10 June 2003

2012 ◽  
Vol 140 (6) ◽  
pp. 1779-1793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teruhisa Shimada ◽  
Masahiro Sawada ◽  
Weiming Sha ◽  
Hiroshi Kawamura
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Temperature Difference ◽  
Diurnal Variations ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
The West ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Tsugaru Strait ◽  
Mutsu Bay

Abstract This paper investigates the structures of and diurnal variations in low-level easterly winds blowing through the Tsugaru Strait and Mutsu Bay on 5–10 June 2003 using a numerical weather prediction model. Cool air that accompanies prevailing easterly winds owing to the persistence of the Okhotsk high intrudes into the strait and the bay below 500 m during the nighttime and retreats during the daytime. This cool-air intrusion and retreat induce diurnal variations in the winds in the east inlet of the strait, in Mutsu Bay, and in the west exit of the strait. In the east inlet, a daytime increase in air temperature within the strait produces a large air temperature difference with the inflowing cool air, and the resulting pressure gradient force accelerates the winds. The cool air flowing into Mutsu Bay is heated over land before entering the bay during the daytime. The resulting changes in cool-air depth and in pressure gradient force strengthen the daytime winds. In the west exit, local pressure gradient force perturbations are induced by the air temperature difference between warm air over the Japan Sea and cool air within the strait, and by variations in the depth of low-level cool air. The accelerated winds in the west exit extend southwestward in close to geostrophic balance during the daytime and undergo a slight anticyclonic rotation to westerly during the nighttime owing to the dominance of the Coriolis effect.

scholarly journals A Cloud-Resolving Simulation Study on the Merging Processes and Effects of Topography and Environmental Winds

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1232-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danhong Fu ◽  
Xueliang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
Merging Process ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Water Vapor Convergence

Abstract The cloud-resolving fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) was used to study the cloud interactions and merging processes in the real case that generated a mesoscale convective system (MCS) on 23 August 2001 in the Beijing region. The merging processes can be grouped into three classes for the studied case: isolated nonprecipitating and precipitating cell merging, cloud cluster merging, and echo core or updraft core merging within cloud systems. The mechanisms responsible for the multiscale merging processes were investigated. The merging process between nonprecipitating cells and precipitating cells and that between clusters is initiated by forming an upper-level cloud bridge between two adjacent clouds due to upper-level radial outflows in one vigorous cloud. The cloud bridge is further enhanced by a favorable middle- and upper-level pressure gradient force directed from one cloud to its adjacent cloud by accelerating cloud particles being horizontally transported from the cloud to its adjacent cloud and induce the redistribution of condensational heating, which destabilizes the air at and below the cloud bridge and forms a favorable low-level pressure structure for low-level water vapor convergence and merging process. The merging of echo cores within the mesoscale cloud happens because of the interactions between low-level cold outflows associated with the downdrafts formed by these cores. Further sensitivity studies on the effects of topography and large-scale environmental winds suggest that the favorable pressure gradient force from one cloud to its adjacent cloud and stronger low-level water vapor convergence produced by the topographic lifting of large-scale low-level airflow determine further cloud merging processes over the mountain region.

Mechanisms of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet as Simulated in an AGCM

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 532-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianan Jiang ◽  
Ngar-Cheung Lau ◽  
Isaac M. Held ◽  
Jeffrey J. Ploshay
Keyword(s):  
Simple Model ◽  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Inertial Oscillation ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Low Level Jet

Abstract A model diagnosis has been performed on the nocturnal Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ), which is one of the key elements of the warm season regional climate over North America. The horizontal–vertical structure, diurnal phase, and amplitude of the LLJ are well simulated by an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM), thus justifying a reevaluation of the physical mechanisms for the formation of the LLJ based on output from this model. A diagnosis of the AGCM data confirms that two planetary boundary layer (PBL) processes, the diurnal oscillation of the pressure gradient force and of vertical diffusion, are of comparable importance in regulating the inertial oscillation of the winds, which leads to the occurrence of maximum LLJ strength during nighttime. These two processes are highlighted in the theories for the LLJ proposed by Holton (1967) and Blackadar (1957). A simple model is constructed in order to study the relative roles of these two mechanisms. This model incorporates the diurnal variation of the pressure gradient force and vertical diffusion coefficients as obtained from the AGCM simulation. The results reveal that the observed diurnal phase and amplitude of the LLJ can be attributed to the combination of these two mechanisms. The LLJ generated by either Holton’s or Blackadar’s mechanism alone is characterized by an unrealistic meridional phase shift and weaker amplitude. It is also shown that the diurnal phase of the LLJ exhibits vertical variations in the PBL, more clearly at higher latitudes, with the upper PBL wind attaining a southerly peak several hours earlier than the lower PBL. The simple model demonstrates that this phase tilt is due mainly to sequential triggering of the inertial oscillation from upper to lower PBL when surface cooling commences after sunset. At lower latitudes, due to the change of orientation of prevailing mean wind vectors and the longer inertial period, the inertial oscillation in the lower PBL tends to be interrupted by strong vertical mixing in the following day, whereas in the upper PBL, the inertial oscillation can proceed in a low-friction environment for a relatively longer duration. Thus, the vertical phase tilt initiated at sunset is less evident at lower latitudes.

scholarly journals On the fine vertical structure of the low troposphere over the coastal margins of East Antarctica

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 4659-4683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Étienne Vignon ◽  
Olivier Traullé ◽  
Alexis Berne
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Humidity Profiles

Abstract. In this study, 8 years of high-resolution radiosonde data at nine Antarctic stations are analysed to provide the first large-scale characterization of the fine vertical structure of the low troposphere up to 3 km altitude over the coastal margins of East Antarctica. Radiosonde data show a large spatial variability of wind, temperature and humidity profiles, with different features between stations in katabatic regions (e.g., Dumont d'Urville and Mawson stations), stations over two ice shelves (Neumayer and Halley stations) and regions with complex orography (e.g., McMurdo). At the Dumont d'Urville, Mawson and Davis stations, the yearly median wind speed profiles exhibit a clear low-level katabatic jet. During precipitation events, the low-level flow generally remains of continental origin and its speed is even reinforced due to the increase in the continent–ocean pressure gradient. Meanwhile, the relative humidity profiles show a dry low troposphere, suggesting the occurrence of low-level sublimation of precipitation in katabatic regions but such a phenomenon does not appreciably occur over the ice shelves near Halley and Neumayer. Although ERA-Interim and ERA5 reanalyses assimilate radiosoundings at most stations considered here, substantial – and sometimes large – low-level wind and humidity biases are revealed but ERA5 shows overall better performance. A free simulation with the regional polar version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (Polar WRF) (at a 35 km resolution) over the entire continent shows too-strong and too-shallow near-surface jets in katabatic regions especially in winter. This may be a consequence of an underestimated coastal cold air bump and associated sea–continent pressure gradient force due to the coarse 35 km resolution of the Polar WRF simulation. Beyond documenting the vertical structure of the low troposphere over coastal East Antarctica, this study gives insights into the reliability and accuracy of two major reanalysis products in this region on the Earth. The paper further underlines the difficulty of modeling the low-level flow over the margins of the ice sheet with a state-of-the-art atmospheric model.

Topographic Effects on a Wintertime Cold Front in Taiwan

2006 ◽  
Vol 134 (11) ◽  
pp. 3297-3316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang-Ching Chien ◽  
Ying-Hwa Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Taiwan Strait ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Taiwan Strait

Abstract This paper describes an observational and numerical study of an intense wintertime cold front that occurred in Taiwan on 8 January 1996. The front was associated with rope clouds at the leading edge, and a broad area of stratiform clouds behind. The front was blocked by the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan and divided into two sections on each side of the mountain range. As the cold air moved southward along the east coast, the increasing westward Coriolis force induced a landward acceleration. After the cold air piled up against the mountains, a coastal pressure ridge developed. The cold air damming yielded a geostrophic balance between the westward Coriolis force and the eastward component of the pressure gradient force in the x direction, and a southward acceleration in the y direction mainly caused by the southward pressure gradient force component. Over the Taiwan Strait, southward pressure gradient forces increased when the low-level stable cold air was confined over the Taiwan Strait, leading to a southward acceleration of the cold air. The formation of a windward ridge off the northwest coast of Taiwan contributed to a large southward acceleration, resulting in the development of a coastal jet. Over the Taiwan Strait, the cold air moved southward the fastest due to the channeling effect. The air parcels along the east coast of Taiwan experienced a downgradient acceleration from the cold air damming and advanced at a slower speed. Those traveling over the western plains and the nearshore coast advanced at the slowest speed. Two sensitivity runs, one without Taiwan’s topography (flat land only) and the other without Taiwan’s landmass, demonstrated the influences of Taiwan’s terrain and water–land contrast on the airflow. The run with no surface fluxes showed that the ocean modified the low-level cold air by supplying surface heat and moisture fluxes. This weakened the front, reduced low-level stability, and increased forced shallow convection (formation of rope clouds) at the leading edge.

Gap Flows through Idealized Topography. Part II: Effects of Rotation and Surface Friction

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 2720-2739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saša Gaberšek ◽  
Dale R. Durran
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Gradient ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Friction ◽  
Gradient Force ◽  
Pressure Gradient Force ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Mesoscale Circulations ◽  
Balanced Flow ◽  
Large Scale Flow ◽  
Effects Of Rotation

Abstract Numerical simulations are conducted of geostrophically balanced flow over an isolated mountain cut by a horizontal gap. The relative importance of the along-gap synoptic-scale pressure gradient and terrain-induced mesoscale circulations for the generation of gap winds was examined by changing the direction of the synoptic-scale wind relative to the topography. In all cases, the forcing associated with mesoscale circulations generated by the mountain was at least as significant as the synoptic-scale pressure gradient. In the cases where a component of the large-scale flow was directed perpendicular to the ridge, the dynamics were dominated by either the vertical momentum fluxes due to mountain lee waves or by mesoscale pressure gradients associated with upstream blocking or lee troughing. Mesoscale circulations were also important when the large-scale flow was parallel to the ridge because surface friction turned the low-level winds toward the high pressure side of the ridge, partially blocking the flow and enhancing the along-gap pressure gradient. The flow in the interior of a very long uniform gap was also simulated for a case with the synoptic-scale winds parallel to the ridge so that the synoptic-scale pressure gradient was down the gap. The flow in the interior of the long gap was not horizontal and not in a simple dynamical balance between acceleration, the pressure gradient force, and surface friction. Even the flow in the lowest 150 m was gradually subsiding. Subsidence and lateral momentum flux convergence at low levels near the center of the gap were important contributors to the mass and along-gap momentum budgets.

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