Abstract
The interaction of topographically induced thermally and mechanically driven diurnal flow regimes in the lee of the Rockies is shown to lead to the growth of a mesoscale convective system (MCS). An organic MCS observed during the 1977 combined South Park Area Cumulus Experiment and High Plains Experiment is numerically simulated with a two-dimensional nonhydrostatic cloud model covering spatial scales of 1000 km. In this numerical investigation,mesoγ-, mesoβ- and mesoα-scales of motion are represented simultaneously. As a result, interesting features of cloud-mesoscale interaction are predicted that cannot be represented in cloud parameterization frameworks. Based on the results of this simulation, a six-stage conceptual model of orogenic development is given.
