The Use of Satellite Imagery and Surface Pressure-Gradient Analysis Modified for Sloping Terrain to Analyze the Mesoscale Events Preceding the Severe Hailstorms of 2 August 1986
Open Access
- 1 June 1990
- journal article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Weather and Forecasting
- Vol. 5 (2) , 279-298
- https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0434(1990)005<0279:tuosia>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Conditions leading up to an outbreak of severe hailstorms in northeast Colorado are examined using satellite and surface data. A persistent mesoscale ridge of surface-high pressure, caused by outflow from a mesoscale- convective system, is seen to coincide with the occurrence of large hail which was confined to a narrow band extending nearly parallel to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The development of the mesoscale ridge during its most intense stages is documented using a procedure that yields an approximate streamfunction for the surface geostrophic wind. Unlike alternatives over sloping terrain, this method is quick and can be adjusted to minimize the error over a limited portion of the analysis area.Keywords
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