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Title: Environments of Long-Lived Mesoscale Convective Systems Over the Central United States in Convection Permitting Climate Simulations

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027033· OSTI ID:1417445
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Atmospheric Science and Global Change Div. (ASGC)
  2. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Atmospheric Science and Global Change Div. (ASGC); Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
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Continental-scale convection-permitting simulations of the warm seasons of 2011 and 2012 reproduce realistic structure and frequency distribution of lifetime and event mean precipitation of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) over the central United States. In this work, analysis is performed to determine the environmental conditions conducive to generating the longest-lived MCSs and their subsequent interactions. The simulations show that MCSs systematically form over the Great Plains ahead of a trough in the westerlies in combination with an enhanced low-level jet from the Gulf of Mexico. These environmental properties at the time of storm initiation are most prominent for the MCSs that persist for the longest times. Systems reaching 9 h or more in lifetime exhibit feedback to the environment conditions through diabatic heating in the MCS stratiform regions. As a result, the parent synoptic-scale wave is strengthened as a divergent perturbation develops over the MCS at high levels, while a cyclonic circulation perturbation develops in the midlevels of the trough, where the vertical gradient of heating in the MCS region is maximized. The quasi-balanced mesoscale vortex helps to maintain the MCS over a long period of time by feeding dry, cool air into the environment at the rear of the MCS region, so that the MCS can draw in air that increases the evaporative cooling that helps maintain the MCS. At lower levels the south-southeasterly jet of warm moist air from the Gulf is enhanced in the presence of the synoptic-scale wave. That moisture supply is essential to the continued redevelopment of the MCS.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1417445
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1415050
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-125741; KP1703010
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 122, Issue 24; ISSN 2169-897X
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 55 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (5)

Modeling extreme precipitation over East China with a global variable-resolution modeling framework (MPASv5.2): impacts of resolution and physics journal January 2019
Climatological representation of mesoscale convective systems in a dynamically downscaled climate simulation journal November 2018
Robust Nocturnal and Early Morning Summer Rainfall Peaks over Continental East Asia in a Global Multiscale Modeling Framework journal January 2019
Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics of Mesoscale Convective Systems Producing Short-Duration Heavy Rainfall over the Tianshan Mountain Area journal March 2019
North American extreme precipitation events and related large-scale meteorological patterns: a review of statistical methods, dynamics, modeling, and trends journal September 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
mesoscale convective systems
large‐scale environment
long‐lived MCS
convection permitting modeling
MCS‐circulation interactions
central United States