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Abstract
The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is an instrument designed to continuously monitor lightning. It is on the GOES-16 and GOES-17 satellites, viewing much of the Western Hemisphere equatorward of 55°. Besides recording lightning-flash information, it transmits background visible-band images of its field of view every 2.5 min. The background images are not calibrated or geolocated, and they only have ~10-km grid spacing, but their 2.5-min sampling can potentially fill temporal gaps between full-disk imagery from the GOES satellites’ Advanced Baseline Imager. This paper applies an initial calibration and geolocation of the GLM background images and focuses on animations for two cases: a volcanic eruption in Guatemala and a severe thunderstorm complex in Argentina. Those locations typically have 10-min intervals between full-disk scans. Prior to April 2019, the interval was 15 min. Despite coarse horizontal resolution, the rapid updates from GLM background images appear to be useful in these cases. The 3 June 2018 eruption of Fuego Volcano appears in the GLM background imagery as an initial darkening of the pixels very near the volcano and then an outward expansion of the dark ash cloud. The GLM background imagery lacks horizontal textural detail but compensates for this lack with temporal detail. The ash cloud resembles a dark blob steadily expanding from frame to frame. Animation of the severe thunderstorm scene reveals vertical wind shear, with northerly low-level flow across a growing cumulus field and west-northwesterly upper-level flow at anvil level. Convective initiation is seen, as are propagating outflow boundaries and overshooting convective cloud tops.
Abstract
The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is an instrument designed to continuously monitor lightning. It is on the GOES-16 and GOES-17 satellites, viewing much of the Western Hemisphere equatorward of 55°. Besides recording lightning-flash information, it transmits background visible-band images of its field of view every 2.5 min. The background images are not calibrated or geolocated, and they only have ~10-km grid spacing, but their 2.5-min sampling can potentially fill temporal gaps between full-disk imagery from the GOES satellites’ Advanced Baseline Imager. This paper applies an initial calibration and geolocation of the GLM background images and focuses on animations for two cases: a volcanic eruption in Guatemala and a severe thunderstorm complex in Argentina. Those locations typically have 10-min intervals between full-disk scans. Prior to April 2019, the interval was 15 min. Despite coarse horizontal resolution, the rapid updates from GLM background images appear to be useful in these cases. The 3 June 2018 eruption of Fuego Volcano appears in the GLM background imagery as an initial darkening of the pixels very near the volcano and then an outward expansion of the dark ash cloud. The GLM background imagery lacks horizontal textural detail but compensates for this lack with temporal detail. The ash cloud resembles a dark blob steadily expanding from frame to frame. Animation of the severe thunderstorm scene reveals vertical wind shear, with northerly low-level flow across a growing cumulus field and west-northwesterly upper-level flow at anvil level. Convective initiation is seen, as are propagating outflow boundaries and overshooting convective cloud tops.
Abstract
The presented picture of the month is a superposition of spaceborne lidar observations and high-resolution temperature fields of the ECMWF Integrated Forecast System (IFS). It displays complex tropospheric and stratospheric clouds in the Arctic winter of 2015/16. Near the end of December 2015, the unusual northeastward propagation of warm and humid subtropical air masses as far north as 80°N lifted the tropopause by more than 3 km in 24 h and cooled the stratosphere on a large scale. A widespread formation of thick cirrus clouds near the tropopause and of synoptic-scale polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) occurred as the temperature dropped below the thresholds for the existence of cloud particles. Additionally, mountain waves were excited by the strong flow at the western edge of the ridge across Svalbard, leading to the formation of mesoscale ice PSCs. The most recent IFS cycle using a horizontal resolution of 8 km globally reproduces the large-scale and mesoscale flow features and leads to a remarkable agreement with the wave structure revealed by the spaceborne observations.
Abstract
The presented picture of the month is a superposition of spaceborne lidar observations and high-resolution temperature fields of the ECMWF Integrated Forecast System (IFS). It displays complex tropospheric and stratospheric clouds in the Arctic winter of 2015/16. Near the end of December 2015, the unusual northeastward propagation of warm and humid subtropical air masses as far north as 80°N lifted the tropopause by more than 3 km in 24 h and cooled the stratosphere on a large scale. A widespread formation of thick cirrus clouds near the tropopause and of synoptic-scale polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) occurred as the temperature dropped below the thresholds for the existence of cloud particles. Additionally, mountain waves were excited by the strong flow at the western edge of the ridge across Svalbard, leading to the formation of mesoscale ice PSCs. The most recent IFS cycle using a horizontal resolution of 8 km globally reproduces the large-scale and mesoscale flow features and leads to a remarkable agreement with the wave structure revealed by the spaceborne observations.
Abstract
An aerial photograph of a cyclonic, von Kármán–like vortex in the marine stratocumulus clouds off the California coast, taken by a commercial pilot near Grover Beach, is presented. It is believed that this is the first photograph of such an eddy, taken from an airplane, to appear in publication.
The eddy occurred with a strong inversion above a shallow marine boundary layer, in the lee of high, inversion-penetrating terrain. Tower and surface wind measurements plotted on satellite imagery demonstrate that the Grover Beach eddy was not just a cloud-level feature, but extended through the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) to the surface. Evolution of the flow during the formation of the eddy appears similar to idealized numerical simulations of blocked MABL flow from the literature. The tower measurements sampled the northern part of the eddy circulation during its formation just offshore. The 2°–3°C temperature increases and then decreases during and after the eddy passage may be indicative of warmer air, from sheltered locations to the southeast, and/or downslope flow, being advected by and included into the eddy circulation. Satellite data compared with sequences of wind reversals at two different levels of the meteorological tower suggest that the eddy is tilted with height, at least during its formation stage. Formation mechanisms are discussed, but the subsynoptic observations are inadequate to resolve basic questions about the flow; ultimately a high-resolution model simulation is needed.
Abstract
An aerial photograph of a cyclonic, von Kármán–like vortex in the marine stratocumulus clouds off the California coast, taken by a commercial pilot near Grover Beach, is presented. It is believed that this is the first photograph of such an eddy, taken from an airplane, to appear in publication.
The eddy occurred with a strong inversion above a shallow marine boundary layer, in the lee of high, inversion-penetrating terrain. Tower and surface wind measurements plotted on satellite imagery demonstrate that the Grover Beach eddy was not just a cloud-level feature, but extended through the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) to the surface. Evolution of the flow during the formation of the eddy appears similar to idealized numerical simulations of blocked MABL flow from the literature. The tower measurements sampled the northern part of the eddy circulation during its formation just offshore. The 2°–3°C temperature increases and then decreases during and after the eddy passage may be indicative of warmer air, from sheltered locations to the southeast, and/or downslope flow, being advected by and included into the eddy circulation. Satellite data compared with sequences of wind reversals at two different levels of the meteorological tower suggest that the eddy is tilted with height, at least during its formation stage. Formation mechanisms are discussed, but the subsynoptic observations are inadequate to resolve basic questions about the flow; ultimately a high-resolution model simulation is needed.
Abstract
This manuscript documents the tornado in the Rockwell Pass area of Sequoia National Park, California, that occurred on 7 July 2004. Since the elevation of the tornado’s ground circulation was approximately 3705 m (~12 156 ft) MSL, this is the highest-elevation tornado documented in the United States. The investigation of the storm’s convective mode was performed mostly inferentially on the basis of an analysis of the radar imagery from Edwards Air Force Base (which was in clear-air mode on this day), objectively produced soundings and/or CAPE estimates from two mesoscale models, an objectively produced proximity sounding and hodograph, and analyses of satellite imagery. The nearest Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) in Hanford, California, could not be used to observe this storm because of terrain blockage by the Sierra Nevada, and the nearest sounding sites were too distant and in a different meteorological environment on this day. The near-storm environment may have been favorable briefly for a supercell in the upper portion of the Kern River Canyon. The limitations of the radar data precluded the authors from making a definitive conclusion on the convective mode of the storm but do not rule out the possibility that the storm briefly might have been a supercell. There was insufficient evidence, however, to support the notion that the tornado itself was mesocyclone induced. High LCL heights in the proximity sounding also suggest that the tornado was formed by processes not associated with a mesocyclone (popularly known as a “landspout”), but do not allow us to dismiss the possibility that the tornado was mesocyclone induced.
Abstract
This manuscript documents the tornado in the Rockwell Pass area of Sequoia National Park, California, that occurred on 7 July 2004. Since the elevation of the tornado’s ground circulation was approximately 3705 m (~12 156 ft) MSL, this is the highest-elevation tornado documented in the United States. The investigation of the storm’s convective mode was performed mostly inferentially on the basis of an analysis of the radar imagery from Edwards Air Force Base (which was in clear-air mode on this day), objectively produced soundings and/or CAPE estimates from two mesoscale models, an objectively produced proximity sounding and hodograph, and analyses of satellite imagery. The nearest Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) in Hanford, California, could not be used to observe this storm because of terrain blockage by the Sierra Nevada, and the nearest sounding sites were too distant and in a different meteorological environment on this day. The near-storm environment may have been favorable briefly for a supercell in the upper portion of the Kern River Canyon. The limitations of the radar data precluded the authors from making a definitive conclusion on the convective mode of the storm but do not rule out the possibility that the storm briefly might have been a supercell. There was insufficient evidence, however, to support the notion that the tornado itself was mesocyclone induced. High LCL heights in the proximity sounding also suggest that the tornado was formed by processes not associated with a mesocyclone (popularly known as a “landspout”), but do not allow us to dismiss the possibility that the tornado was mesocyclone induced.
Abstract
During the late afternoon hours of 24 May 2005 a severe weather outbreak occurred in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Severe thunderstorms were observed ahead of a surface cold front, including a (Southern Hemisphere) cyclonic left-moving supercell that produced a multiple-vortex tornado in the outskirts of the town of Indaiatuba, Brazil (23.1°S, 47.2°W). A documentation of the multivortex structure of the tornado and of the cloud-base features is performed using still images from a video that recorded the event. Characteristics of the tornadic thunderstorm and the synoptic-scale environment in which it developed are examined using Doppler radar data, geostationary satellite imagery, surface and upper-air observations, and data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s Climate Forecast System Reanalysis. The cloud base of the thunderstorm displayed morphological features associated with midlatitude tornadic supercells, including a low-level mesocyclone and a “clear slot”; however, the rear-flank downdraft did not obscure the view of the tornado from the western flank of the storm. The tornadic storm developed in a moist prefrontal environment with a low-level jet. Limited mesoscale observations hampered the quantitative analysis of the local thermodynamic forcing, but the available data suggest that the supercell developed under moderate conditional instability. Strong speed and directional vertical wind shear were observed, while the local boundary layer displayed very high relative humidity and low surface-based lifting condensation level.
Abstract
During the late afternoon hours of 24 May 2005 a severe weather outbreak occurred in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Severe thunderstorms were observed ahead of a surface cold front, including a (Southern Hemisphere) cyclonic left-moving supercell that produced a multiple-vortex tornado in the outskirts of the town of Indaiatuba, Brazil (23.1°S, 47.2°W). A documentation of the multivortex structure of the tornado and of the cloud-base features is performed using still images from a video that recorded the event. Characteristics of the tornadic thunderstorm and the synoptic-scale environment in which it developed are examined using Doppler radar data, geostationary satellite imagery, surface and upper-air observations, and data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s Climate Forecast System Reanalysis. The cloud base of the thunderstorm displayed morphological features associated with midlatitude tornadic supercells, including a low-level mesocyclone and a “clear slot”; however, the rear-flank downdraft did not obscure the view of the tornado from the western flank of the storm. The tornadic storm developed in a moist prefrontal environment with a low-level jet. Limited mesoscale observations hampered the quantitative analysis of the local thermodynamic forcing, but the available data suggest that the supercell developed under moderate conditional instability. Strong speed and directional vertical wind shear were observed, while the local boundary layer displayed very high relative humidity and low surface-based lifting condensation level.
Abstract
According to the Norwegian cyclone model, whether a warm-type or cold-type occluded front forms depends upon which cold air mass is colder: the prewarm-frontal air mass or the postcold-frontal air mass. For example, a cold-type occlusion is said to occur when the occluded front slopes rearward with height because the prewarm-frontal air mass is warmer than the postcold-frontal air mass. This temperature difference and the resulting occluded-frontal structure in the Norwegian cyclone model is part of what is called the temperature rule. Paradoxically, no clear example of a rearward-sloping, cold-type occluded front has been found in the literature, even though the required temperature difference has been documented in several cases. This article presents the first documented, rearward-sloping, cold-type occluded front. This occluded front forms in a cyclone over the North Atlantic Ocean on 3–5 January 2003 and is documented in model output from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Cross sections through the evolving cyclone show the occluded front forms as the less statically stable warm-frontal zone ascends over the more stable cold-frontal zone. Such a stability difference between the cold- and warm-frontal zones is consistent with a previously published hypothesis that the less stable air is lifted by the more stable air to form occluded fronts, in disagreement with the temperature rule. Because warm-frontal zones and the cold air underneath tend to be more stable than cold-frontal zones and the postcold-frontal air, warm-type occluded fronts are much more common than cold-type occluded fronts, explaining why well-defined, rearward-sloping, cold-type occluded fronts are not common in the meteorological literature.
Abstract
According to the Norwegian cyclone model, whether a warm-type or cold-type occluded front forms depends upon which cold air mass is colder: the prewarm-frontal air mass or the postcold-frontal air mass. For example, a cold-type occlusion is said to occur when the occluded front slopes rearward with height because the prewarm-frontal air mass is warmer than the postcold-frontal air mass. This temperature difference and the resulting occluded-frontal structure in the Norwegian cyclone model is part of what is called the temperature rule. Paradoxically, no clear example of a rearward-sloping, cold-type occluded front has been found in the literature, even though the required temperature difference has been documented in several cases. This article presents the first documented, rearward-sloping, cold-type occluded front. This occluded front forms in a cyclone over the North Atlantic Ocean on 3–5 January 2003 and is documented in model output from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Cross sections through the evolving cyclone show the occluded front forms as the less statically stable warm-frontal zone ascends over the more stable cold-frontal zone. Such a stability difference between the cold- and warm-frontal zones is consistent with a previously published hypothesis that the less stable air is lifted by the more stable air to form occluded fronts, in disagreement with the temperature rule. Because warm-frontal zones and the cold air underneath tend to be more stable than cold-frontal zones and the postcold-frontal air, warm-type occluded fronts are much more common than cold-type occluded fronts, explaining why well-defined, rearward-sloping, cold-type occluded fronts are not common in the meteorological literature.
Abstract
For the state of Colorado, 10 years (2003–12) of 1 April–31 October cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning stroke data are mapped at 500-m spatial resolution over a 10-m spatial resolution U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM). Spatially, the 12.5 million strokes that are analyzed represent ground contacts, but translate to density values that are about twice the number of ground contacts. Visual interpretation of the mapped data reveals the general lightning climatology of the state, while geospatial analyses that quantify lightning activity by elevation identify certain topographic influences of Colorado’s physical landscape. Elevations lower than 1829 m (6000 ft) and above 3200 m (10 500 ft) show a positive relationship between lightning activity and elevation, while the variegated topography that lies between these two elevations is characterized by a fluctuating relationship. Though many topographic controls are elucidated through the mappings and analyses, the major finding of this paper is the sharp increase in stroke density observed above 3200 m (10 500 ft). Topography’s role in this rapid surge in stroke density, which peaks in the highest mountain summits, is not well known, and until now, was not well documented in the refereed literature at such high resolution from a long-duration dataset.
Abstract
For the state of Colorado, 10 years (2003–12) of 1 April–31 October cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning stroke data are mapped at 500-m spatial resolution over a 10-m spatial resolution U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital elevation model (DEM). Spatially, the 12.5 million strokes that are analyzed represent ground contacts, but translate to density values that are about twice the number of ground contacts. Visual interpretation of the mapped data reveals the general lightning climatology of the state, while geospatial analyses that quantify lightning activity by elevation identify certain topographic influences of Colorado’s physical landscape. Elevations lower than 1829 m (6000 ft) and above 3200 m (10 500 ft) show a positive relationship between lightning activity and elevation, while the variegated topography that lies between these two elevations is characterized by a fluctuating relationship. Though many topographic controls are elucidated through the mappings and analyses, the major finding of this paper is the sharp increase in stroke density observed above 3200 m (10 500 ft). Topography’s role in this rapid surge in stroke density, which peaks in the highest mountain summits, is not well known, and until now, was not well documented in the refereed literature at such high resolution from a long-duration dataset.
Abstract
Hurricane Dolly (2008) exhibited dramatic inner-core structural variability during a 6-h rapid intensification and deepening event just prior to making landfall in southern Texas at 1800 UTC 23 July. In particular, the eyewall was highly asymmetric from 0634–1243 UTC, with azimuthal wavenumber m = 4–7 patterns in the eyewall radar reflectivity and prominent mesovortex and polygonal eyewall signatures. Evidence is presented that the most likely cause of the high-wavenumber asymmetries is a convectively modified form of barotropic instability of the thin eyewall potential vorticity ring. The rapid intensification and deepening event occurred while Dolly was in a favorable environment with weak deep-layer vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures; however, the environmental conditions were becoming less favorable during the period of rapid intensification. Therefore, it is plausible that the internal vortex dynamics were dominant contributors to the rapid intensification and deepening.
Abstract
Hurricane Dolly (2008) exhibited dramatic inner-core structural variability during a 6-h rapid intensification and deepening event just prior to making landfall in southern Texas at 1800 UTC 23 July. In particular, the eyewall was highly asymmetric from 0634–1243 UTC, with azimuthal wavenumber m = 4–7 patterns in the eyewall radar reflectivity and prominent mesovortex and polygonal eyewall signatures. Evidence is presented that the most likely cause of the high-wavenumber asymmetries is a convectively modified form of barotropic instability of the thin eyewall potential vorticity ring. The rapid intensification and deepening event occurred while Dolly was in a favorable environment with weak deep-layer vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures; however, the environmental conditions were becoming less favorable during the period of rapid intensification. Therefore, it is plausible that the internal vortex dynamics were dominant contributors to the rapid intensification and deepening.
Abstract
Foehn wind blowing through the Kolkhida (Kolkheti) Lowland in the southwestern Caucasus (western Georgia) was observed on an Envisat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image as it encountered an atmospheric cyclonic eddy over the Black Sea on 13 September 2010. This SAR image reveals unprecedented finescale features of the near-surface wind fields that cannot be resolved by other sensors. It shows, among others, the deflection of the foehn wind by the atmospheric eddy. Quantitative information on the near-surface wind field over the sea is extracted from the SAR image.
Abstract
Foehn wind blowing through the Kolkhida (Kolkheti) Lowland in the southwestern Caucasus (western Georgia) was observed on an Envisat synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image as it encountered an atmospheric cyclonic eddy over the Black Sea on 13 September 2010. This SAR image reveals unprecedented finescale features of the near-surface wind fields that cannot be resolved by other sensors. It shows, among others, the deflection of the foehn wind by the atmospheric eddy. Quantitative information on the near-surface wind field over the sea is extracted from the SAR image.
Abstract
A train of Kelvin–Helmholtz billows in a deep stratiform cloud over a mountain range is documented using data from a high-resolution vertically pointing airborne Doppler radar. The billows had a spacing of 2–2.5 km and a small aspect ratio. The formation and decay of the billows appear to be related to flow acceleration over a mountain.
Abstract
A train of Kelvin–Helmholtz billows in a deep stratiform cloud over a mountain range is documented using data from a high-resolution vertically pointing airborne Doppler radar. The billows had a spacing of 2–2.5 km and a small aspect ratio. The formation and decay of the billows appear to be related to flow acceleration over a mountain.
