Satellite-Observed Characteristics of Midwest Severe Thunderstorm Anvils

Heymsfield, Gerald M.; Blackmer, Roy H.

doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1988)116<2200:socoms>2.0.co;2

Cited by 48 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…The Vshaped signature (McCann, 1981) is very clear, with a warm spot behind the overshooting tops. This structure matches, in size and form, previous observations (Heymsfield & Blackmer, 1988). The V-shape has been observed in many supercells and identified as a precursor of severe weather (McCann, 1981;Heymsfield & Blackmer, 1988).…”

Section: Remote Sensing Observations (A) Satellite Imagerysupporting

confidence: 88%

Two cases of severe weather in Catalonia (Spain): an observational study

Ramis

Arús

López

et al. 1997

Meteorological Applications

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Surface observations, satellite and radar imagery and cloud‐to‐ground lightning data are used in an observational study of two cases that produced severe weather in Catalonia (Spain). The first one occurred on 24 August 1993; a squall line crossed Catalonia from west to east producing heavy rain with rates of up to 100 mm h−1 and hail of 7 cm diameter. The observational information provided is a good tool for monitoring the event and issuing a reasonable nowcast. The second case, which occurred on 31 August 1994, was associated with the development of a tornado (F1 in the Fujita scale) as well as hail of up to 5 cm diameter. In this case the convection was almost stationary and no clear signatures of severe weather can be identified from available satellite and radar imagery. Copyright © 1997 Royal Meteorological Society

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Section: Remote Sensing Observations (A) Satellite Imagerysupporting

confidence: 88%

Two cases of severe weather in Catalonia (Spain): an observational study

Ramis

Arús

López

et al. 1997

Meteorological Applications

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“…Observations of such thermal structures have been reported repeatedly in the literature (e.g., Heymsfield et al, 1983;Heymsfield and Blackmer, Jr, 1988;Levizzani and Setvák, 1996;Setvák et al, 2007;Rosenfeld et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Most of these studies agree that the cold U region is due to air masses that have cooled while ascending adiabatically beyond their level of neutral buoyancy and become exposed to the view of the satellite radiometer (e.g., Heymsfield and Blackmer, Jr, 1988;Rosenfeld et al, 2007). There is, however, substantial uncertainty about the cause of the warm center.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale mixing processes enhancing troposphere-to-stratosphere transport by pyro-cumulonimbus storms

et al. 2007

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Abstract. Deep convection induced by large forest fires is an efficient mechanism for transport of aerosol particles and trace gases into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS). For many pyro-cumulonimbus clouds (pyroCbs) as well as other cases of severe convection without fire forcing, radiometric observations of cloud tops in the thermal infrared (IR) reveal characteristic structures, featuring a region of relatively high brightness temperatures (warm center) surrounded by a U-shaped region of low brightness temperatures.We performed a numerical simulation of a specific case study of pyroCb using a non-hydrostatic cloud resolving model with a two-moment cloud microphysics parameterization and a prognostic turbulence scheme. The model is able to reproduce the thermal IR structure as observed from satellite radiometry. Our findings establish a close link between the observed temperature pattern and small-scale mixing processes atop and downwind of the overshooting dome of the pyroCb. Such small-scale mixing processes are strongly enhanced by the formation and breaking of a stationary gravity wave induced by the overshoot. They are found to increase the stratospheric penetration of the smoke by up to almost 30 K and thus are of major significance for irreversible transport of forest fire smoke into the lower stratosphere.

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“…Future work should include taking observations of the cloud-top temperatures to identify changes in the updraft intensity in relation to the formation of feeder clouds. Relatively colder cloud-top temperatures are associated with the overshooting top and are prominent features in severe thunderstorm anvils (Heymsfield and Blackmer 1988). By identifying changes in the coldest temperatures using enhanced IR imagery, changes in updraft intensity can be inferred.…”

Section: Suggestions For Correlating Feeder Clouds With Storm Intementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Difficulties notwithstanding, it is essential to be able to make accurate and timely forecasts of these storms in order to save lives and mitigate property losses. Satellite imagery can help the forecaster in this process by providing indications of where a thunderstorm or group of thunderstorms might form, identifying factors affecting storm evolution, furnishing clues regarding severe weather potential, and hinting as to how the storms(s) might propagate (Adler and Fenn 1979;McCann 1983;Scofield and Purdom 1986;Heymsfield and Blackmer 1988;Bunkers et al 2000;Weaver et al 2002). In particular, storm-scale cloud features on the order of 1-10 km are resolved in 1-km visible satellite imagery and have been shown to be influential in storm evolution (Lemon 1976;Weaver et al 1994;Weaver and Purdom 1995;Weaver and Lindsey 2004).…”

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confidence: 99%

A Preliminary Statistical Study of Correlations between Inflow Feeder Clouds, Supercell or Multicell Thunderstorms, and Severe Weather

Mazur

Weaver

Haar

2009

Weather and Forecasting

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This study examines the relationship between severe weather and organized lines of cumulus towers, called feeder clouds, which form in the inflow region of supercell and multicell thunderstorms. Using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery, correlations between the occurrence of feeder clouds and severe weather reports are explored. Output from the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) mesocyclone detection algorithm (MDA) is also assessed for a subset of the satellite case days. Statistics from the satellite and radar datasets are assembled to estimate not only the effectiveness of feeder cloud signatures as sole predictors of severe weather, but also the potential utility of combining feeder cloud analysis with the radar's MDA output.Results from this study suggest that the formation of feeder clouds as seen in visible satellite imagery is often followed by the occurrence of severe weather in a storm. The study finds that feeder cloud signatures by themselves have low skill in predicting severe weather. However, if feeder clouds are observed in a storm, there is a 77% chance that severe weather will occur within 30 min of the observation. For the cases considered, the MDA turns out to be the more effective predictor of severe weather. However, results show that combined predictions (feeder clouds plus mesocyclones) outperform both feeder cloud signatures and the MDA as separate predictors by ;10%-20%. Thus, the presence of feeder clouds as observed in visible imagery is a useful adjunct to the MDA in diagnosing a storm's potential for producing severe weather.

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Satellite-Observed Characteristics of Midwest Severe Thunderstorm Anvils

Cited by 48 publications

References 0 publications

Two cases of severe weather in Catalonia (Spain): an observational study

Two cases of severe weather in Catalonia (Spain): an observational study

Small-scale mixing processes enhancing troposphere-to-stratosphere transport by pyro-cumulonimbus storms

A Preliminary Statistical Study of Correlations between Inflow Feeder Clouds, Supercell or Multicell Thunderstorms, and Severe Weather

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