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Last modified
7/28/2009 2:40:38 PM
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4/24/2008 2:54:03 PM
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Weather Modification
Title
Remote and In Situ Observations of Sierra Nevada Winter Mountain Clouds: Relationsips between Mesoscale Structure, Precipitation and Liquid Water
Date
2/2/1988
Weather Modification - Doc Type
Report
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<br />FEBRUARY 1988 <br /> <br />DA VID W. REYNOLDS AND ARUNAS P. KUCIAUSKAS <br /> <br />143 <br /> <br />TABLE 1. Key instrumentation utilized. <br />Measurement Location Temporal frequency <br />Integrated water vapor (em) KGV 24 h day-I <br />Integrated liquid water (mm) 2 min avg <br />Reflectivity to 125 km range SHR 24 h day-I <br /> 15 or 5 min volume <br /> scans <br />Reflectivity (dBZ) Cool, CA During storms <br />Radial velocity (m S-I) <br />Temperature, moisture SHR 24 h day-SHR <br />Wind 1000-100 mb BLU 12 h day-BLU, KGV <br /> KGV 3 h intervals during <br /> storms <br />Daylight visible (hardcopy) AUB , 24 h day-I <br />Day-night infrared (hardcopy) Forecast Office 30 min interval <br />Precipitation rate (mm h-I) ARB 24 h day-I <br /> 5 min interval <br />Temperature, humidity, windspeed, CIS (2020 m) 24 h day-I <br />direction SQP (2675 m) 5 min interval <br /> <br />Instrument <br /> <br />Dual-channel microwave radiometer <br /> <br />5 (im radar <br /> <br />NCAR CP-4, 5-cm <br />Doppler radar <br /> <br />Rawinsonde <br /> <br />Satellite imagery <br /> <br />Weighing type <br />Precipitation gauges (30) <br /> <br />Remote mountaintop weather stations <br /> <br />the constructed radar time-height profile over Kingvale <br />(Fig. 2c) shows only weak e9ho and Kingvale precipi- <br />tation rates were under 2 mm h -I. Kingvale precipi- <br />tation rates will be used in this paper as they more <br />closely represent cloud precipitation processes that <br />would affect radiometer observed SL W. <br />The second stage of the precipitation event occurred <br />between 1800 on the seventh and 0000 on the eighth. <br />It began with the passage of a well-defined upper jet <br />streak accompanying an upper-level cold surge/hu- <br />rnidity front similar to what was described by Hobbs <br />(1978) for precipitation systems over the Cascades. The <br />passage of this feature had a distinct impact on the <br />precipitation process. It is hypothesized that the cir- <br />culation associated with the upper jet streak produced <br />the subsidence field on the cyclonic shear side of the <br />jet. The low-level jet of 25m S-I observed over Sheridan <br />at 1800 was associated with the indirect circulation of <br />, the upper jet (Uccellini and Johnson, 1979). <br />There is a rather distinct warming of cloud tops (as <br />seen in the 2130 satellite image in Fig. 3) in the vicinity <br />of the barrier. This corresponds to the drying aloft be- <br />hind theupperjet. The association between the upper <br />jet streak and discontinuity in CTT has been observed <br />and documented by Oliver et al. (1964) and Weldon <br />(1979). The low-level jet associated with a zone oflow- <br />level convergence provides the low-level forcing pro- <br />ducing the rainband that was observed to pass the Au- <br />burn precipitation gauge site at 1600 (Fig. 4). This band <br />of heavier precipitation could not be tracked up the <br />barrier either in the precipitation data or radar data <br />because the band merged with the enhanced orographic <br />cloud and began to dissipate with the loss of low-level <br />convergence over the barrier. <br /> <br />Several other significant features were noted to occur <br />during the passage of the upper jet. First, drying aloft <br />temporarily removed the upper cloud deck which had <br />been acting as a natural seeder cloud. Second, the sur- <br />face to 5 krn CSR increased as low-level winds turned <br />perpendicular to the barrier behind the upper front. <br />Third, aOe/az (hereby referred to as potential insta- <br />bility) showed decreased stability in the region between <br />3 and 6 km induced by the drying aloft. This desta- <br />bilization aided in producing embedded convection <br />and increasing the local condensate supply rate. These <br />three factors lead to a recovery of the SL W within the <br />cloud even though precipitation rates were also in- <br />creasing. This increase in SLW was directly observed <br />by examination of the snow crystals falling at Kingvale <br />and by the project aircraft which were conducting a <br />randornized "no-seed" experiment at this time. Crystals <br />at Kingvale showed a distinct increase in riming along <br />with the onset of large frozen water drops up to 500 <br />JLm. Project aircraft reported severe degradation of air- <br />craft performance due to these large drops accreting to <br />the underside of the wings (Sand et a1., 1984). <br />The third stage of this storm occurred several hours <br />after passage of the upper jet streak and upper-level <br />cold surge/hurnidity front. At this time a deep, stable, <br />warm overrunning precipitation period began. This <br />third stage produced the bulk of the precipitation from <br />this event. Key points to note here are the high CSR <br />(almost double those from 0900-1800 on the seventh), <br />decreased SLW, deep and extensive echo over King- <br />vale, and moderate precipitation rates of 5-8 mrn h-I <br />with indications of embedded band features yielding <br />the highest precipitation rates such as at 0600 and 1500. <br />Another important feature noted was the presence of <br />
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