Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Multiscale Analysis of the 7 December 1998 Great Salt Lake–Effect Snowstorm

W. James Steenburgh NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction, and Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Search for other papers by W. James Steenburgh in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
Daryl J. Onton NOAA Cooperative Institute for Regional Prediction, and Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Search for other papers by Daryl J. Onton in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Jun 2001
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2001)129<1296:MAOTDG>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
1296–1317
Restricted access

Abstract

The large-scale and mesoscale structure of the Great Salt Lake–effect snowstorm of 7 December 1998 is examined using radar analyses, high-density surface observations, conventional meteorological data, and a simulation by the Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research fifth generation Mesoscale Model (MM5). Environmental conditions during the event were characterized by a lake–700-hPa temperature difference of up to 22.5°C, a lake–land temperature difference as large as 10°C, and conditionally unstable low-level lapse rates. The primary snowband of the event formed along a land-breeze front near the west shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. The snowband then migrated eastward and merged with a weaker snowband as the land-breeze front moved eastward, offshore flow developed from the eastern shoreline, and low-level convergence developed near the midlake axis. Snowfall accumulations reached 36 cm and were heaviest in a narrow, 10-km-wide band that extended downstream from the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake. Thus, although the Great Salt Lake is relatively small in scale compared to the Great Lakes, it is capable of inducing thermally driven circulations and banded precipitation structures similar to those observed in lake-effect regions of the eastern United States and Canada.

Corresponding author address: Dr. W. James Steenburgh, Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, 135 South 1460 East Room 819, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0110.

Abstract

The large-scale and mesoscale structure of the Great Salt Lake–effect snowstorm of 7 December 1998 is examined using radar analyses, high-density surface observations, conventional meteorological data, and a simulation by the Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research fifth generation Mesoscale Model (MM5). Environmental conditions during the event were characterized by a lake–700-hPa temperature difference of up to 22.5°C, a lake–land temperature difference as large as 10°C, and conditionally unstable low-level lapse rates. The primary snowband of the event formed along a land-breeze front near the west shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. The snowband then migrated eastward and merged with a weaker snowband as the land-breeze front moved eastward, offshore flow developed from the eastern shoreline, and low-level convergence developed near the midlake axis. Snowfall accumulations reached 36 cm and were heaviest in a narrow, 10-km-wide band that extended downstream from the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake. Thus, although the Great Salt Lake is relatively small in scale compared to the Great Lakes, it is capable of inducing thermally driven circulations and banded precipitation structures similar to those observed in lake-effect regions of the eastern United States and Canada.

Corresponding author address: Dr. W. James Steenburgh, Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, 135 South 1460 East Room 819, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0110.

Save
Cover Monthly Weather Review
Monthly Weather Review

  • Arnow, T., 1980: Water budget and water-surface fluctuations of Great Salt Lake. Utah Geolog. Mineral Survey Bull.,116, 255–263.

  • Ballentine, R. J., 1982: Numerical simulation of land-breeze-induced snowbands along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Mon. Wea. Rev.,110, 1544–1553.

  • ——, A. J. Stamm, E. E. Chermack, G. P. Byrd, and D. Schleede, 1998: Mesoscale model simulation of the 4–5 January 1995 lake-effect snowstorm. Wea. Forecasting,13, 893–920.

  • Benjamin, S. G., and N. L. Seaman, 1985: A simple scheme for objective analysis in curved flow. Mon. Wea. Rev.,113, 1184–1198.

  • ——, K. A. Brewster, R. L. Brummer, B. F. Jewett, T. W. Schlatter, T. L. Smith, and P. A. Stamus, 1991: An isentropic three-hourly data assimilation system using ACARS aircraft observations. Mon. Wea. Rev.,119, 888–906.

  • ——, K. J. Brundage, and L. L. Marone, 1994: The Rapid Update Cycle. Part I: Analysis/model description. Technical Procedures Bull. 416, NOAA/NWS, 16 pp. [Available from National Weather Service, Office of Meteorology, 1325 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.].

  • Black, T. L., 1994: The new NMC Mesoscale Eta Model: Description and forecast examples. Wea. Forecasting,9, 265–278.

  • Blackadar, A. K., 1976: Modeling the nocturnal boundary layer. Preprints, Third Symp. on Atmospheric Turbulence and Air Quality, Raleigh, NC, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 46–49.

  • ——, 1979: High resolution models of the planetary boundary layer. Advances in Environmental Science and Engineering, J. R. Pfafflin and E. N. Ziegler, Eds., Vol. 1, Gordon and Breach, 50–85.

  • Braham, R. R., Jr., 1983: The midwest snow storm of 8–11 December 1977. Mon. Wea. Rev.,111, 253–272.

  • ——, and R. D. Kelly, 1982: Lake-effect snow storms on Lake Michigan, USA. Cloud Dynamics, E. M. Agee and T. Asai, Eds., D. Reidel, 87–101.

  • Butts, D. S., 1980: Factors affecting the concentration of Great Salt Lake Brines. Utah Geolog. Mineral Survey Bull.,116, 163–167.

  • Carpenter, D. M., 1993: The lake effect of the Great Salt Lake: Overview and forecast problems. Wea. Forecasting,8, 181–193.

  • Dickson, D. R., J. H. Yepsen, and J. V. Hales, 1965: Saturated vapor pressures over Great Salt Lake brine. J. Geophys. Res.,70, 500–503.

  • Dudhia, J., 1989: Numerical study of convection observed during the Winter Monsoon Experiment using a mesoscale two-dimensional model. J. Atmos. Sci.,46, 3077–3107.

  • Forbes, G. S., and J. H. Merritt, 1984: Mesoscale vortices over the Great Lakes in wintertime. Mon. Wea. Rev.,112, 377–381.

  • Grell, G. A., J. Dudhia, and D. R. Stauffer, 1995: A description of the fifth-generation Penn State/ NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5). NCAR Tech. Note NCAR/TN-398 + STR, 122 pp. [Available from UCAR Communications, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307.].

  • Hjelmfelt, M. R., 1990: Numerical study of the influence of environmental conditions on lake-effect snowstorms over Lake Michigan. Mon. Wea. Rev.,118, 138–150.

  • ——, 1992: Orographic effects in simulated lake-effect snowstorms over Lake Michigan. Mon. Wea. Rev.,120, 373–377.

  • ——, and R. R. Braham Jr., 1983: Numerical simulation of the airflow over Lake Michigan for a major lake-effect snow event. Mon. Wea. Rev.,111, 205–219.

  • Kain, J. S., and J. M. Fritsch, 1993: Convective parameterization for mesoscale models: The Kain Fritsch scheme. The Representation of Cumulus Convection in Numerical Models, Meteor. Monogr., No. 24, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 165–170.

  • Kelly, R. D., 1982: A single Doppler radar study of horizontal-roll convection in a lake-effect snow storm. J. Atmos. Sci.,39, 1521–1531.

  • ——, 1984: Horizontal roll and boundary-layer interrelationships observed over Lake Michigan. J. Atmos. Sci.,41, 1816–1826.

  • Klemp, J. B., and D. R. Durran, 1983: An upper boundary condition permitting internal gravity wave radiation in numerical mesoscale models. Mon. Wea. Rev.,111, 430–444.

  • Krishnamurti, T. N., and L. Bounoua, 1996: An Introduction to Numerical Weather Prediction Techniques. 1st ed. CRC Press, 293 pp.

  • Lavoie, R. L., 1972: A mesoscale numerical model of lake-effect storms. J. Atmos. Sci.,29, 1025–1040.

  • Muller, R. A., 1966: Snowbelts of the Great Lakes. Weatherwise,19, 248–255.

  • Newby, J. E., 1980: Great Salt Lake railroad crossing. Utah Geolog. Mineral Survey Bull.,116, 393–400.

  • Niziol, T. A., W. R. Snyder, and J. S. Waldstreicher, 1995: Winter weather forecasting throughout the eastern United States. Part IV: Lake effect snow. Wea. Forecasting,10, 61–77.

  • Onton, D. J., and W. J. Steenburgh, 2001: Diagnostic and sensitivity studies of the 7 December 1998 Great Salt Lake–effect snowstorm. Mon. Wea. Rev.,129, 1273–1293.

  • Passarelli, R. E., Jr., and R. R. Braham Jr., 1981: The role of the winter land breeze in the formation of Great Lake snow storms. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.,62, 482–491.

  • Peace, R. L., and R. B. Sykes Jr., 1966: Mesoscale study of a lake effect snowstorm. Mon. Wea. Rev.,94, 495–507.

  • Rogers, E., T. Black, D. Deaven, G. DiMego, Q. Zhao, Y. Lin, N. W. Junker, and M. Baldwin, 1995: Changes to the NMC operational Eta model analysis/forecast system. NWS Tech. Procedures Bull. 423, 51 pp. [Available from National Weather Service, Office of Meteorology, 1325 East-West Highway, Silver Springs, MD 20910.].

  • ——, ——, ——, ——, ——, M. Baldwin, and N. M. Junker, 1996:Changes to the operational “early” Eta analysis/forecast system at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Wea. Forecasting,11, 391–413.

  • Slemmer, J. W., 1998: Characteristics of winter snowstorms near Salt Lake City as deduced from surface and radar observations. M.S. thesis, Dept. of Meteorology, University of Utah, 138 pp. [Available from Dept. of Meteorology, University of Utah, 145 South 1460 East Room 209, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0110.].

  • Stauffer, D. R., and N. L. Seaman, 1990: Use of four-dimensional data assimilation in a limited-area mesoscale model. Part I: Experiments with synoptic-scale data. Mon. Wea. Rev.,118, 1250–1277.

  • Steenburgh, W. J., S. F. Halvorson, and D. J. Onton, 2000: Climatology of lake-effect snowstorms of the Great Salt Lake. Mon. Wea. Rev.,128, 709–727.

  • Sturm, P. A., 1980: The Great Salt Lake Brine System. Utah Geolog. Mineral Survey Bull.,116, 147–162.

  • Vukicevic, T., and J. Paegle, 1989: The influence of one-way interacting lateral boundary conditions upon predictability of flow in bounded numerical models. Mon. Wea. Rev.,117, 340–350.

  • Wiggin, B. L., 1950: Great snows of the Great Lakes. Weatherwise,3, 123–126.

  • Wold, S. R., B. E. Thomas, and K. M. Waddell, 1996: Water and salt balance of Great Salt Lake, Utah, and simulation of water and salt movement through the causeway: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-428, 66 pp.

  • Zhang, D., and R. A. Anthes, 1982: A high-resolution model of the planetary boundary layer-sensitivity tests and comparisons with SESAME-79 data. J. Appl. Meteor.,21, 1594–1609.

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 1907 1634 220
PDF Downloads 216 50 1