Journal
JOURNAL OF APPLIED METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY
Volume 53, Issue 6, Pages 1636-1658Publisher
AMER METEOROLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0312.1
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Funding
- NCAR
- Advanced Study Program
- NSF [AGS-1143948]
- CSU-CHILL [AGS-1138116]
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Div Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences [1143948] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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High-resolution X-band polarimetric radar data were collected in 19 snowstorms over northern Colorado in early 2013 as part of the Front Range Orographic Storms (FROST) project. In each case, small, vertically erect convective turrets were observed near the echo top. These generating cells are similar to those reported in the literature and are characterized by similar to 1-km horizontal and vertical dimensions, vertical velocities of 1-2 m s(-1), and lifetimes of at least 10 min. In some cases, these generating cells are enshrouded by enhanced differential reflectivity Z(DR), indicating a shroud of pristine crystals enveloping the larger, more isotropic particles. The anticorrelation of radar reflectivity factor at horizontal polarization Z(H) and Z(DR) suggests ongoing aggregation or riming of particles in the core of generating cells. For cases in which radiosonde data were collected, potential instability was found within the layer in which generating cells were observed. The persistence of these layers suggests that radiative effects are important, perhaps by some combination of cloud-top cooling and release of latent enthalpy through depositional and riming growth of particles within the cloud. The implications for the ubiquity of generating cells and their role as a mechanism for ice crystal initiation and growth are discussed.
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