Local thermal gradient and large-scale circulation impacts on turbine-height wind speed forecasting over the Columbia Basin

Abstract

Abstract. We investigate the sensitivity of turbine-height wind speed forecast to initial condition (IC) uncertainties over the Columbia River Gorge (CRG) and Columbia River Basin (CRB) for two typical weather phenomena, i.e., local thermal gradient induced marine air intrusion and a cold frontal passage. Four types of turbine-height wind forecast anomalies and their associated IC uncertainties related to local thermal gradients and large-scale circulations are identified using the self-organizing map (SOM) technique. The four SOM types are categorized into two patterns, each accounting for half of the ensemble members. The first pattern corresponds to IC uncertainties that alter the wind forecast through modulating weather system, which produces the strongest wind anomalies in the CRG and CRB. In the second pattern, the moderate local thermal gradient and large-scale circulation uncertainties jointly contribute to wind forecast anomaly. We analyze the cross-section of wind and temperature anomalies through the gorge to explore the evolution of vertical features of each SOM type. The turbine-height wind anomalies induced by large-scale IC uncertainties are more concentrated near the front. In contrast, turbine-height wind anomalies induced by the local IC thermal uncertainties are found above the surface thermal anomalies. Moreover, the wind forecast accuracy in the CRG and CRB are limited by IC uncertainties in a few specific regions, e.g., the 2-m temperature within the basin and large-scale circulation over the northeast Pacific around 140° W.