scholarly journals Observed Near-Storm Environment Variations across the Southern Cumberland Plateau System in Northeastern Alabama

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. 1465-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony W. Lyza ◽  
Todd A. Murphy ◽  
Barrett T. Goudeau ◽  
Preston T. Pangle ◽  
Kevin R. Knupp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Cumberland Plateau ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Downslope Winds ◽  
Tennessee Valley ◽  
Intensive Observations ◽  
Wind Profiles ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level

Abstract The Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain Plateaus in northeastern Alabama have been established as a regional relative maximum in tornadogenesis reports within the southeastern United States. Investigation of long-term surface datasets has revealed (i) stronger and more backed winds atop Sand Mountain than over the Tennessee Valley, and (ii) measured cloud-base heights are lower to the surface atop Sand Mountain than over the Tennessee Valley. These observations suggest that low-level wind shear and lifting condensation level (LCL) height changes may lead to conditions more favorable for tornadogenesis atop the plateaus than over the Tennessee Valley. However, prior to fall 2016, no intensive observations had been made to further investigate low-level flow or thermodynamic changes in the topography of northeastern Alabama. This paper provides detailed analysis of observations gathered during VORTEX-SE field campaign cases from fall 2016 through spring 2019. These observations indicate that downslope winds form along the northwest edge of Sand Mountain in at least some severe storm environments in northeastern Alabama. Wind profiles gathered across northeastern Alabama indicate that low-level helicity changes can be substantial over small distances across different areas of the topographic system. LCL height changes often scale to changes in land elevation, which can be on the order of 200–300 m across northeastern Alabama.

scholarly journals A Background Investigation of Tornado Activity across the Southern Cumberland Plateau Terrain System of Northeastern Alabama

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (12) ◽  
pp. 4261-4278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony W. Lyza ◽  
Kevin R. Knupp
Keyword(s):  
Wind Profile ◽  
Cumberland Plateau ◽  
Activity Maximum ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Terrain Effects ◽  
Surface Data ◽  
Tennessee Valley ◽  
Profile Changes ◽  
Tornadic Storms

Abstract The effects of terrain on tornadoes are poorly understood. Efforts to understand terrain effects on tornadoes have been limited in scope, typically examining a small number of cases with limited observations or idealized numerical simulations. This study evaluates an apparent tornado activity maximum across the Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain plateaus of northeastern Alabama. These plateaus, separated by the narrow Wills Valley, span ~5000 km2 and were impacted by 79 tornadoes from 1992 to 2016. This area represents a relative regional statistical maximum in tornadogenesis, with a particular tendency for tornadogenesis on the northwestern side of Sand Mountain. This exploratory paper investigates storm behavior and possible physical explanations for this density of tornadogenesis events and tornadoes. Long-term surface observation datasets indicate that surface winds tend to be stronger and more backed atop Sand Mountain than over the adjacent Tennessee Valley, potentially indicative of changes in the low-level wind profile supportive to storm rotation. The surface data additionally indicate potentially lower lifting condensation levels over the plateaus versus the adjacent valleys, an attribute previously shown to be favorable for tornadogenesis. Rapid Update Cycle and Rapid Refresh model output indicate that Froude numbers for the plateaus in tornadic environments are likely supportive of enhanced low-level flow over the plateaus, which further indicates the potential for favorable wind profile changes for tornado production. Examples of tornadic storms rapidly acquiring increased low-level rotation while reaching the plateaus of northeast Alabama are presented. The use of this background to inform the VORTEX-SE 2017 field campaign is discussed.

scholarly journals Breakup of nocturnal low-level stratiform clouds during the southern West African monsoon season

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 2027-2051
Author(s):  
Maurin Zouzoua ◽  
Fabienne Lohou ◽  
Paul Assamoi ◽  
Marie Lothon ◽  
Véronique Yoboue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Liquid Water Path ◽  
Stratiform Cloud ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Stratiform Clouds ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level

Abstract. Within the framework of the DACCIWA (Dynamics–Aerosol–Chemistry–Cloud Interactions in West Africa) project and based on a field experiment conducted in June and July 2016, we analyze the daytime breakup of continental low-level stratiform clouds in southern West Africa. We use the observational data gathered during 22 precipitation-free occurrences at Savè, Benin. Our analysis, which starts from the stratiform cloud formation usually at night, focuses on the role played by the coupling between cloud and surface in the transition towards shallow convective clouds during daytime. It is based on several diagnostics, including the Richardson number and various cloud macrophysical properties. The distance between the cloud base height and lifting condensation level is used as a criterion of coupling. We also make an attempt to estimate the most predominant terms of the liquid water path budget in the early morning. When the nocturnal low-level stratiform cloud forms, it is decoupled from the surface except in one case. In the early morning, the cloud is found coupled with the surface in 9 cases and remains decoupled in the 13 other cases. The coupling, which occurs within the 4 h after cloud formation, is accompanied by cloud base lowering and near-neutral thermal stability in the subcloud layer. Further, at the initial stage of the transition, the stratiform cloud base is slightly cooler, wetter and more homogeneous in coupled cases. The moisture jump at the cloud top is usually found to be lower than 2 g kg−1 and the temperature jump within 1–5 K, which is significantly smaller than typical marine stratocumulus and explained by the monsoon flow environment in which the stratiform cloud develops over West Africa. No significant difference in liquid water path budget terms was found between coupled and decoupled cases. In agreement with previous numerical studies, we found that the stratiform cloud maintenance before sunrise results from the interplay between the predominant radiative cooling, entrainment and large-scale subsidence at its top. Three transition scenarios were observed depending on the state of coupling at the initial stage. In coupled cases, the low-level stratiform cloud remains coupled until its breakup. In five of the decoupled cases, the cloud couples with the surface as the lifting condensation level rises. In the eight remaining cases, the stratiform cloud remains hypothetically decoupled from the surface throughout its life cycle since the height of its base remains separated from the condensation level. In cases of coupling during the transition, the stratiform cloud base lifts with the growing convective boundary layer roughly between 06:30 and 08:00 UTC. The cloud deck breakup, occurring at 11:00 UTC or later, leads to the formation of shallow convective clouds. When the decoupling subsists, shallow cumulus clouds form below the stratiform cloud deck between 06:30 and 09:00 UTC. The breakup time in this scenario has a stronger variability and occurs before 11:00 UTC in most cases. Thus, we argue that the coupling with the surface during daytime hours has a crucial role in the low-level stratiform cloud maintenance and its transition towards shallow convective clouds.

scholarly journals The Influence of Lifting Condensation Level on Low-Level Outflow and Rotation in Simulated Supercell Thunderstorms

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 1349-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Brown ◽  
Christopher J. Nowotarski
Keyword(s):  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Cold Pool ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Vertical Vorticity ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Cold Pools ◽  
Surface Circulation ◽  
Supercell Thunderstorms ◽  
Wind Profiles ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level

Abstract This paper reports on results of idealized numerical simulations testing the influence of low-level humidity, and thus lifting condensation level (LCL), on the morphology and evolution of low-level rotation in supercell thunderstorms. Previous studies have shown that the LCL can influence outflow buoyancy, which can in turn affect generation and stretching of near-surface vertical vorticity. A less explored hypothesis is tested: that the LCL affects the relative positioning of near-surface circulation and the overlying mesocyclone, thus influencing the dynamic lifting and intensification of near-surface vertical vorticity. To test this hypothesis, a set of three base-state thermodynamic profiles with varying LCLs are implemented and compared over a variety of low-level wind profiles. The thermodynamic properties of the simulations are sensitive to variations in the LCL, with higher LCLs contributing to more negatively buoyant cold pools. These outflow characteristics allow for a more forward propagation of near-surface circulation relative to the midlevel mesocyclone. When the mid- and low-level mesocyclones become aligned with appreciable near-surface circulation, favorable dynamic updraft forcing is able to stretch and intensify this rotation. The strength of the vertical vorticity generated ultimately depends on other interrelated factors, including the amount of near-surface circulation generated within the cold pool and the buoyancy of storm outflow. However, these simulations suggest that mesocyclone alignment with near-surface circulation is modulated by the ambient LCL, and is a necessary condition for the strengthening of near-surface vertical vorticity. This alignment is also sensitive to the low-level wind profile, meaning that the LCL most favorable for the formation of intense vorticity may change based on ambient low-level shear properties.

scholarly journals Long-Term Exposure to Low-Level NO2 and Mortality among the Elderly Population in the Southeastern United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaoyao Qian ◽  
Haomin Li ◽  
Andrew Rosenberg ◽  
Qiulun Li ◽  
Jeremy Sarnat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Low Level

scholarly journals A Multiple-Vortex Tornado in Southeastern Brazil

2014 ◽  
Vol 142 (9) ◽  
pp. 3017-3037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernani de Lima Nascimento ◽  
Gerhard Held ◽  
Ana Maria Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Still Images ◽  
Local Boundary ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Severe Thunderstorms ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level

During the late afternoon hours of 24 May 2005 a severe weather outbreak occurred in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Severe thunderstorms were observed ahead of a surface cold front, including a (Southern Hemisphere) cyclonic left-moving supercell that produced a multiple-vortex tornado in the outskirts of the town of Indaiatuba, Brazil (23.1°S, 47.2°W). A documentation of the multivortex structure of the tornado and of the cloud-base features is performed using still images from a video that recorded the event. Characteristics of the tornadic thunderstorm and the synoptic-scale environment in which it developed are examined using Doppler radar data, geostationary satellite imagery, surface and upper-air observations, and data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s Climate Forecast System Reanalysis. The cloud base of the thunderstorm displayed morphological features associated with midlatitude tornadic supercells, including a low-level mesocyclone and a “clear slot”; however, the rear-flank downdraft did not obscure the view of the tornado from the western flank of the storm. The tornadic storm developed in a moist prefrontal environment with a low-level jet. Limited mesoscale observations hampered the quantitative analysis of the local thermodynamic forcing, but the available data suggest that the supercell developed under moderate conditional instability. Strong speed and directional vertical wind shear were observed, while the local boundary layer displayed very high relative humidity and low surface-based lifting condensation level.

scholarly journals Quantification of the Impact of Nauru Island on ARM Measurements

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles N. Long ◽  
Sally A. McFarlane
Keyword(s):  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Low Cloud ◽  
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement ◽  
Statistical Studies ◽  
Cloud Effect ◽  
The Impact

AbstractNauru Island at times generates low clouds that impact low-level cloud statistics and downwelling shortwave radiation measurements made at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) site. This study uses five years of Nauru data to quantify the island impact on the site measurements. The results indicate that the solar-heating-produced Nauru island effect occurs about 11% of the time during daylight hours. The island effect increases the 500–1000-m cloud base occurrence by 15%–20% when clouds occur, but because the island effect only occurs 11% of the time the overall increase in daylight low-cloud statistics is 2%, or 1% for 24-h statistics. In a similar way, the island effect produces a reduction of about 17% in the downwelling shortwave (SW) radiation across the daylight hours during the 11% of the time it occurs, an overall 2% daylight (or 1% for 24 h) average reduction. The island effect produces frequent positive downwelling SW cloud effects, in particular during the morning, which tend to somewhat mitigate the overall decrease in downwelling SW radiation that is due to clouds. This produces 17 W m−2 less daylight average SW cloud effect relative to non-island-effect times, in particular for the convectively suppressed regime that typifies island-effect-producing conditions. For long-term overall statistical studies such as model and satellite comparisons, the 2% daylight (or 1% per 24 h) average increase in low-level cloud occurrence and decrease in downwelling SW are not of large concern as long as researchers are aware of them. For shorter-term studies, however, or those that separate data by conditions such as convectively active/suppressed regimes, the Nauru island effect can have significant impacts.

Examination of moisture content variation within an operational wet deck

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURENCE SCHIMLECK ◽  
KIM LOVE-MYERS ◽  
JOE SANDERS ◽  
HEATH RAYBON ◽  
RICHARD DANIELS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Water Application ◽  
Wood Moisture ◽  
International Paper ◽  
Content Variation ◽  
Moisture Variation

Many forest products companies in the southeastern United States store large volumes of roundwood under wet storage. Log quality depends on maintaining a high and constant wood moisture content; however, limited knowledge exists regarding moisture variation within individual logs, and within wet decks as a whole, making it impossible to recommend appropriate water application strategies. To better understand moisture variation within a wet deck, time domain reflectometry (TDR) was used to monitor the moisture variation of 30 southern pine logs over an 11-week period for a wet deck at the International Paper McBean woodyard. Three 125 mm long TDR probes were inserted into each log (before the deck was built) at 3, 4.5, and 7.5 m from the butt. The position of each log within the stack was also recorded. Mixed-effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine moisture variation over the study period. Moisture content varied within the log, while position within the stack was generally not significant. The performance of the TDR probes was consistent throughout the study, indicating that they would be suitable for long term (e.g., 12 months) monitoring.

41. Diffusion Badges as a Long-Term, Low-Level Method of Ambient Air Analysis

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Parker ◽  
S. Rose-Pehrsson ◽  
D. Kidwell
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Air ◽  
Air Analysis ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Level Method

Long-Term Unemployment in Poland in 2008-2012 - Tendencies, Structure and Selected Determinants

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-359
Author(s):  
Leszek Kucharski
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Increased Risk

This study presents the structure and tendencies in long-term unemployment in Poland in the years 2008-2012. This study identifies the groups of people with an increased risk of long-term unemployment. The analyses produced the following conclusions. The groups with the highest risk of long-term unemployment include: singles, people aged of 55 and above and people with a low level of education. Young people with university and general secondary education faced the lowest risk of long-term unemployment. 

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