TITLE

# High-Resolution Observations and Model Simulations of the Life Cycle of an Intense Mesoscale Snowband over the Northeastern United States

AUTHOR(S)
Novak, David R.; Colle, Brian A.; Yuter, Sandra E.
PUB. DATE
April 2008
SOURCE
Monthly Weather Review;Apr2008, Vol. 136 Issue 4, p1433
SOURCE TYPE
DOC. TYPE
Article
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the structural and dynamical evolution of an intense mesoscale snowband occurring 25â€“26 December 2002 over the northeastern United States. Dual-Doppler, wind profiler, aircraft, and water vapor observations in concert with the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State Universityâ€“NCAR Mesoscale Model run at 4-km grid spacing are used to highlight evolutionary aspects of a snowband unresolved by previous studies. The high-resolution observations and model simulations show that band formation was coincident with a sharpening of a midlevel trough and associated increase in frontogenesis in an environment of conditional and inertial instability. Band maturity was marked by increasing conditional stability and a threefold increase in frontogenetical forcing. Band dissipation occurred as the midlevel trough and associated frontogenetical forcing weakened, while the conditional stability continued to increase. The effect of changing ascent is shown to dominate over changing moisture in explaining band dissipation in this case. Unconventional aspects of band structure and dynamics revealed by the high-resolution data are discussed, including the location of the band relative to the frontogenesis maximum, increasing stability during the band-formation process, and the presence of inertial instability. The model realistically predicted the band evolution; however, maximum precipitation was underforecast within the banded region by âˆ¼30% at 4-km grid spacing, and the axis of heaviest precipitation was displaced âˆ¼50 km to the southeast of the observed location. Higher horizontal model resolution is shown to contribute toward improved QPF in this case; however, it appears more dramatic improvement may be gained by better simulating the frontogenesis, stability, and moisture evolution.
ACCESSION #
31843640

## Related Articles

• Snow distribution over the Namco lake area of the Tibetan Plateau. Li, M.; Ma, Y.; Hu, Z.; Ishikawa, H.; Oku, Y. // Hydrology & Earth System Sciences;2009, Vol. 13 Issue 11, p2023

The mesoscale snow distribution over the Namco lake area of the Tibetan Plateau on October 2005 has been investigated in this paper. The base and revised experiments were conducted using the Weather Research Model (WRF) with three nested grids that included a 1 km finest grid centered on the...

• Blowing Snow Fluxes in the Cariboo Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. D�ry, Stephen J.; Clifton, Andrew; MacLeod, Shane; Beedle, Matthew J. // Arctic, Antarctic & Alpine Research;May2010, Vol. 42 Issue 2, p188

The Cariboo Mountains form the northern extension of the Columbia Mountains, spanning a distance of about 300 km in central British Columbia (BC), Canada. Cool air temperatures, abundant snowfall, and strong winds (especially above treeline and along exposed ridges) would suggest frequent and...

• Air Parcel Trajectories and Snowfall Related to Five Deep Drilling Locations in Antarctica Based on the ERA-15 Dataset. Reijmer, C. H.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Scheele, M. P. // Journal of Climate;Jul2002, Vol. 15 Issue 14, p1957

Five-day backward air parcel trajectories are used to define potential moisture sources of snow falling at five Antarctic deep drilling locations: Byrd, DML05, Dome C, Dome F, and Vostok. The trajectory calculations are based on European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis data,...

• Occluded Fronts and the Occlusion Process: A Fresh Look at Conventional Wisdom. Schultz, David M.; Vaughan, Geraint // Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society;Apr2011, Vol. 92 Issue 4, p443

Traditionally, the formation of an occluded front during the occlusion process in extratropical cyclones has been viewed as the catch-up of a faster-moving cold front to a slower-moving warm front separating the warm-sector air from the low center, as first described in the Norwegian cyclone...

• Sensitivity of a Simulated Squall Line to Horizontal Resolution and Parameterization of Microphysics. Bryan, George H.; Morrison, Hugh // Monthly Weather Review;Jan2012, Vol. 140 Issue 1, p202

Idealized simulations of the 15 May 2009 squall line from the Second Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX2) are evaluated in this study. Four different microphysical setups are used, with either single-moment (1M) or double-moment (2M) microphysics, and either...

• Effects of Different Configurations of the East Asian Subtropical and Polar Front Jets on Precipitation during the Mei-Yu Season. Li, Li; Zhang, Yaocun // Journal of Climate;Sep2014, Vol. 27 Issue 17, p6660

Observational analysis indicates that the East Asian jet stream consists of two separate branches: the East Asian subtropical jet (EASJ) and the East Asian polar front jet (EAPJ). The impacts of different intensity configurations of the EASJ and EAPJ on precipitation during the mei-yu season are...

• Precipitation in the EURO-CORDEX $$0.11^{\circ }$$ and $$0.44^{\circ }$$ simulations: high resolution, high benefits? Prein, A.; Gobiet, A.; Truhetz, H.; Keuler, K.; Goergen, K.; Teichmann, C.; Fox Maule, C.; Meijgaard, E.; Déqué, M.; Nikulin, G.; Vautard, R.; Colette, A.; Kjellström, E.; Jacob, D. // Climate Dynamics;Jan2016, Vol. 46 Issue 1/2, p383

In the framework of the EURO-CORDEX initiative an ensemble of European-wide high-resolution regional climate simulations on a $$0.11^{\circ }\,({\sim}12.5\,\hbox {km})$$ grid has been generated. This study investigates whether the fine-gridded regional climate models are found to add value to...

• Discrete Frontal Propagation in a Nonconvective Environment. Charney, Joseph; Fritsch, J. Michael // Monthly Weather Review;Sep99, Vol. 127 Issue 9, p1

Surface discrete frontal propagation in a wintertime, nonconvective environment is documented using conventional surface and upper-air data and simulated using the PSU-NCAR mesoscale model. Synoptic and mesoscale surface analyses show a cold front associated with a synoptic-scale low-pressure...

• PV-based wave-activity density and its application to tracing heavy precipitation. Ran, Lingkun; Li, Na // Meteorology & Atmospheric Physics;Jan2014, Vol. 123 Issue 1/2, p33

This paper is focused on the tracking of heavy precipitation by detecting strong wave activities in precipitating atmosphere. Based on the generalized moist potential vorticity (GMPV), a new wave-activity density and its wave-activity relation are first derived. The wave-activity density, which...

Share