The analysis of the evolution of convective clouds and their correspondent microphysics vertical distribution will contribute to a better understanding of convective processes and will improve the representation of cloud evolution and latent heat formation for assimilation in NWP models. The use of polarimetric radar measurements allows us to identify the prevailing hydrometeor type and their spatial distribution within a meteorological event. The study is carried out using two polarimetric Cband radars located 90 km apart in the Po Valley of Northern Italy, the S. Pietro Capofiume and the Gattatico radars, both managed by ARPA EmiliaRomagna. The radar observations are collected during the transition of a severe evolving storm occurred on the afternoon of 20 may 2003, moving across the region explored by the two radars, and the microphysical properties are obtained by using an hydrometeor classification scheme developed at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and recently extended from Sband to Cband radar data. The aim of the work is the reconstruction of the 3D storm structure vertical evolution to understand how the microphysical properties change during the different stages of the storm formation and development (from the early to the mature and then dissipative stage of the cloud system). Further “storm representative” vertical hydrometeor profiles will be discussed in order to elucidate the microphysical processes occurring during the storm’s lifetime and their consequence on the ground rainfall field estimation. A next step of this kind of analysis will be the comparison with NWP simulated profiles, to check if they are able to reproduce the reference hydrometeor vertical profiles seen by the radars.
Microphysical Evolution of a Convective Event retrieved from Two Operational Polarimetric C-Band Radars
PORCU', Federico
2006
Abstract
The analysis of the evolution of convective clouds and their correspondent microphysics vertical distribution will contribute to a better understanding of convective processes and will improve the representation of cloud evolution and latent heat formation for assimilation in NWP models. The use of polarimetric radar measurements allows us to identify the prevailing hydrometeor type and their spatial distribution within a meteorological event. The study is carried out using two polarimetric Cband radars located 90 km apart in the Po Valley of Northern Italy, the S. Pietro Capofiume and the Gattatico radars, both managed by ARPA EmiliaRomagna. The radar observations are collected during the transition of a severe evolving storm occurred on the afternoon of 20 may 2003, moving across the region explored by the two radars, and the microphysical properties are obtained by using an hydrometeor classification scheme developed at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and recently extended from Sband to Cband radar data. The aim of the work is the reconstruction of the 3D storm structure vertical evolution to understand how the microphysical properties change during the different stages of the storm formation and development (from the early to the mature and then dissipative stage of the cloud system). Further “storm representative” vertical hydrometeor profiles will be discussed in order to elucidate the microphysical processes occurring during the storm’s lifetime and their consequence on the ground rainfall field estimation. A next step of this kind of analysis will be the comparison with NWP simulated profiles, to check if they are able to reproduce the reference hydrometeor vertical profiles seen by the radars.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
