A Case Study of Cold-season Emergent Orographic Convection and its Impact on Precipitation. Part 2: High-resolution LES Analysis of Convective Cell Evolution and Precipitation Processes.
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| Title: | A Case Study of Cold-season Emergent Orographic Convection and its Impact on Precipitation. Part 2: High-resolution LES Analysis of Convective Cell Evolution and Precipitation Processes. |
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| Authors: | Afrifa, Francis O.T.1 (AUTHOR), Geerts, Bart1 (AUTHOR) geerts@uwyo.edu, Xue, Lulin2 (AUTHOR), Chen, Sisi2 (AUTHOR), Hohman, Christopher1 (AUTHOR), Grasmick, Coltin1 (AUTHOR), Friedrich, Katja3 (AUTHOR), French, Jeffrey1 (AUTHOR), Tessendorf, Sarah2 (AUTHOR), Zaremba, Troy J.4 (AUTHOR), Rauber, Robert M.5 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Monthly Weather Review. Jun2026, Vol. 154 Issue 6, p1-22. 22p. |
| Subjects: | Large eddy simulation models, Meteorological precipitation, Gravity waves, Topography, Heat convection, Winter storms, Snow accumulation |
| Abstract: | Part 1 of this study demonstrated how terrain-induced gravity waves triggered elevated convection, with tops up to 6 – 7 km above sea level, in a potentially unstable layer during a winter storm event over the Idaho Central Mountains on 7 February 2017. Herein, this case is explored further with a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) at 100 m grid spacing, to examine the detailed structure and evolution of convective cells emergent from shallow stratiform clouds, their interaction with complex terrain, and the resulting precipitation processes. The 100 m LES produced fine-scale precipitation structures similar in depth and width to radar observations, with vertical velocity distributions and cloud microphysical properties matching airborne observations. The 100 m LES confirmed the role of vertically propagating gravity waves over the highest terrain ridges in providing the initial lift necessary to release potential instability. Unlike coarser-resolution simulations, the 100 m LES produced clusters of convective towers, ~2 km wide, roughly matching observations, although they were more regularly spaced than observed. Co-spectral analysis of these towers confirms their convective nature. The small-scale convective updrafts, locally exceeding 2 m s −1 , and mostly within the -10 to -20°C temperature zone, enabled snow particles to grow rapidly through depositional growth and riming, and a significant fraction of the simulated precipitation fell as graupel, according to the LES model. Precipitation from this emergent convection occurred primarily in the lee of the main terrain ridge, on account of the strong flow above mountain top level. Cumulatively, the LES produced 18% more precipitation than non-LES models in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Monthly Weather Review is the property of American Meteorological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 194578204 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: A Case Study of Cold-season Emergent Orographic Convection and its Impact on Precipitation. Part 2: High-resolution LES Analysis of Convective Cell Evolution and Precipitation Processes. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Afrifa%2C+Francis+O%2ET%2E%22">Afrifa, Francis O.T.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Geerts%2C+Bart%22">Geerts, Bart</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> geerts@uwyo.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xue%2C+Lulin%22">Xue, Lulin</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Sisi%22">Chen, Sisi</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hohman%2C+Christopher%22">Hohman, Christopher</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Grasmick%2C+Coltin%22">Grasmick, Coltin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Friedrich%2C+Katja%22">Friedrich, Katja</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22French%2C+Jeffrey%22">French, Jeffrey</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tessendorf%2C+Sarah%22">Tessendorf, Sarah</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zaremba%2C+Troy+J%2E%22">Zaremba, Troy J.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rauber%2C+Robert+M%2E%22">Rauber, Robert M.</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Monthly+Weather+Review%22">Monthly Weather Review</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 154 Issue 6, p1-22. 22p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Large+eddy+simulation+models%22">Large eddy simulation models</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Meteorological+precipitation%22">Meteorological precipitation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gravity+waves%22">Gravity waves</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Topography%22">Topography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heat+convection%22">Heat convection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Winter+storms%22">Winter storms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Snow+accumulation%22">Snow accumulation</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Part 1 of this study demonstrated how terrain-induced gravity waves triggered elevated convection, with tops up to 6 – 7 km above sea level, in a potentially unstable layer during a winter storm event over the Idaho Central Mountains on 7 February 2017. Herein, this case is explored further with a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) at 100 m grid spacing, to examine the detailed structure and evolution of convective cells emergent from shallow stratiform clouds, their interaction with complex terrain, and the resulting precipitation processes. The 100 m LES produced fine-scale precipitation structures similar in depth and width to radar observations, with vertical velocity distributions and cloud microphysical properties matching airborne observations. The 100 m LES confirmed the role of vertically propagating gravity waves over the highest terrain ridges in providing the initial lift necessary to release potential instability. Unlike coarser-resolution simulations, the 100 m LES produced clusters of convective towers, ~2 km wide, roughly matching observations, although they were more regularly spaced than observed. Co-spectral analysis of these towers confirms their convective nature. The small-scale convective updrafts, locally exceeding 2 m s −1 , and mostly within the -10 to -20°C temperature zone, enabled snow particles to grow rapidly through depositional growth and riming, and a significant fraction of the simulated precipitation fell as graupel, according to the LES model. Precipitation from this emergent convection occurred primarily in the lee of the main terrain ridge, on account of the strong flow above mountain top level. Cumulatively, the LES produced 18% more precipitation than non-LES models in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Monthly Weather Review is the property of American Meteorological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1175/MWR-D-25-0157.1 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 22 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Large eddy simulation models Type: general – SubjectFull: Meteorological precipitation Type: general – SubjectFull: Gravity waves Type: general – SubjectFull: Topography Type: general – SubjectFull: Heat convection Type: general – SubjectFull: Winter storms Type: general – SubjectFull: Snow accumulation Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: A Case Study of Cold-season Emergent Orographic Convection and its Impact on Precipitation. Part 2: High-resolution LES Analysis of Convective Cell Evolution and Precipitation Processes. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Afrifa, Francis O.T. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Geerts, Bart – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Xue, Lulin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chen, Sisi – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hohman, Christopher – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Grasmick, Coltin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Friedrich, Katja – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: French, Jeffrey – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Tessendorf, Sarah – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zaremba, Troy J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rauber, Robert M. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00270644 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 154 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Monthly Weather Review Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
