Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Kinematic and Thermodynamic Structures of Sierra Barrier Jets and Overrunning Atmospheric Rivers during a Landfalling Winter Storm in Northern California

David E. Kingsmill University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado

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Paul J. Neiman NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado

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Benjamin J. Moore University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado

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Mimi R. Abel University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado

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Sandra E. Yuter North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

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F. Martin Ralph NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado

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Print Publication:
01 Jun 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-12-00277.1
Page(s):
2015–2036
Restricted access

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Abstract

This study characterizes kinematic and thermodynamic structures of Sierra barrier jets (SBJs), atmospheric rivers (ARs), and their interaction over the period 14–16 February 2011 when a winter storm made landfall in northern California. A suite of scanning and profiling Doppler radars, rawinsondes, and GPS receivers is used to document these structures across the Central Valley and up the western Sierra slope to the crest along an ~200-km segment of the Sierra. The winter storm is grouped into two episodes, each having an AR that made landfall. Low-level winds in the SBJ observed during episode 1 were southeasterly and embedded in a stably stratified air mass. Along-barrier wind speeds U340 reached maximum values of 25–30 m s−1, as low as ~0.2 km MSL over the Central Valley, and as high as ~1.5 km MSL over the western Sierra slope. Southwesterly winds associated with the AR overlaid the SBJ along an interface that sloped upward from southwest to northeast with a southwestern extent at the western edge of the Central Valley. In contrast, low-level winds in the SBJ observed during episode 2 were more southerly and embedded in a less stable air mass. The U340 reached maximum values that were slightly weaker (~20–25 m s−1) and spread over a thicker layer that extended to higher levels over the western Sierra (~2.5 km MSL). Southwesterly winds associated with the AR overlaying the SBJ tilted upward from southwest to northeast with a steeper slope but did not extend as far southwest.

Corresponding author address: David E. Kingsmill, University of Colorado, CIRES, UCB 216, Boulder, CO 80309. E-mail: david.kingsmill@colorado.edu

Abstract

This study characterizes kinematic and thermodynamic structures of Sierra barrier jets (SBJs), atmospheric rivers (ARs), and their interaction over the period 14–16 February 2011 when a winter storm made landfall in northern California. A suite of scanning and profiling Doppler radars, rawinsondes, and GPS receivers is used to document these structures across the Central Valley and up the western Sierra slope to the crest along an ~200-km segment of the Sierra. The winter storm is grouped into two episodes, each having an AR that made landfall. Low-level winds in the SBJ observed during episode 1 were southeasterly and embedded in a stably stratified air mass. Along-barrier wind speeds U340 reached maximum values of 25–30 m s−1, as low as ~0.2 km MSL over the Central Valley, and as high as ~1.5 km MSL over the western Sierra slope. Southwesterly winds associated with the AR overlaid the SBJ along an interface that sloped upward from southwest to northeast with a southwestern extent at the western edge of the Central Valley. In contrast, low-level winds in the SBJ observed during episode 2 were more southerly and embedded in a less stable air mass. The U340 reached maximum values that were slightly weaker (~20–25 m s−1) and spread over a thicker layer that extended to higher levels over the western Sierra (~2.5 km MSL). Southwesterly winds associated with the AR overlaying the SBJ tilted upward from southwest to northeast with a steeper slope but did not extend as far southwest.

Corresponding author address: David E. Kingsmill, University of Colorado, CIRES, UCB 216, Boulder, CO 80309. E-mail: david.kingsmill@colorado.edu
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