Shape of hail and its thermodynamic characteristics related to records in Catalonia

Farnell, Carme; Rigo, Tomeu; Heymsfield, Andrew J.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2022.106098

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The values for TOP35 and TOP45 are more modest: 23.6% (19.1%) of the pixels have 175 (44) or more cases exceeding 5.5 km (4 km) of TOP35 (TOP45). Furthermore, there exists a shifting of the maximum area, which in the case of TOP45 is focused on the central Pre-Pyrenees, coincident with the highest severe weather activity in the region [2,3], also according to the ground registers and LJ observations. These results indicate that the most common stormy pattern should be: first, an initial development with the maximum TOP12 in the mountainous areas, then, the thunderstorms increase the TOP35 and TOP45 (implying the growth of the particles inside the cloud) while they move to lower heights.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Severe weather phenomena (large hail, tornadoes, and strong winds) occur in thunderstorms with a high vertical development [1,2]. In these deep convective clouds the updrafts can exceed 20 m/s [3], which is enough for carrying out the embryos to high atmospheric levels (with temperatures close to −40 • C) and favouring their size enlargement. Once the weight of the freezing particles is large enough, the cloud collapses and the mass reduces producing severe phenomena on the ground.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of the Radar Echo Tops in Catalonia: Relationship with Severe Weather

Rigo

Barqué

2022

Remote Sensing

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Strong updrafts occur in severe thunderstorms, causing the overshooting tops, an increase in the total lightning activity, and generating a frozen drops nucleus that will produce severe weather when it collapses. The Echo Top is a measurement of the vertical development of the cloud, considering a certain reflectivity threshold: the higher the threshold value, the lower the altitude reached. The present research shows the distribution of the Echo Tops of three reflectivity thresholds (12, 35, and 45 dBZ) in Catalonia for the period 2013–2021, comparing the distribution with the maps of hail, lightning jumps, and the topography of the region. The analysis shows how the maxima occurrence of Echo Tops varies depending on the threshold, indicating that thunderstorms have an initial development at 12 dBZ in the mountainous area, while the 35 and 45 dBZ maxima are shifted to the south, in regions with lower mountains. This last maximum is nearly coincident with the region more hit by large hail.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Radar Echo Tops in Catalonia: Relationship with Severe Weather

Rigo

Barqué

2022

Remote Sensing

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“…A narrow cut‐off low over the center‐eastern of France evolving into a quasi‐omega atmospheric pattern on 30 August 2022, favored the development of a short‐wave trough over northeastern Spain (Figure S1 in Supporting Information ). The supercell storm developed in the Pyrenees due to orographic lift and highly unstable environment (Farnell et al., 2023). The SST and the SST anomaly reach the highest values in comparison to the climatology of a 3‐week percentile rank centered on the event day (Figures 1b and 1c).…”

Section: Synoptic and Mesoscale Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major Role of Marine Heatwave and Anthropogenic Climate Change on a Giant Hail Event in Spain

Martín,

Calvo‐Sancho,

Taszarek

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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A severe hailstorm that occurred in Spain on 30 August 2022, caused material and human damage, including one fatality due to giant hailstones up to 12 cm in diameter. By applying a pseudo‐global warming approach, here we evaluate how a simultaneous marine heatwave (and anthropogenic climate change) affected a unique environment conductive to such giant hailstones. The main results show that the supercell development was influenced by an unprecedented amount of convective available energy, with significant contributions from thermodynamic factors. Numerical simulations where the marine heatwave is not present show a notable reduction in the hail‐favorable environments, related mainly to modifications in thermodynamic environment. Our simulations also indicate that the environment in a preindustrial‐like climate would be less favorable for convective hazards and thus the hailstorm event would likely not have been as severe as the observed one, being possible to perform a novel attribution of such kind.

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“…The event of 30 August 2022 was the first giant hail case in Catalonia recorded in the last thirty years in the region, according to the Severe Weather Data Base of the Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya [1,2]). The reports collected in this database correspond to different sources (official spotters, automatic weather stations, hail-managing companies, and social networks).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moving to severe weather, Rodríguez [23] studied the favourable conditions for tornadoes and waterspouts development in Catalonia. Finally, Farnell [2,24] established the basis of the necessary ingredients for the occurrence of hail and large hail in the region. Furthermore, the authors proposed some thresholds for the different parameters: maximum vertical updraft of 50 m s −1 , freezing level around 3000 m ASL, Lifted Index (LI) of −5 • C, vertical shear in the 0-6 km level of 15 m s −1 , and Precipitable Water Content (PWC) of 35 mm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermodynamic Conditions during August 2022 in Catalonia: The Monthly Record of Hail Days, Hail Size and the Differences in the Climatic Values

Rigo

2023

Climate

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The hailstorm of 30 August 2022 in the NE of Catalonia (NE of the Iberian Peninsula) produced the largest hail size, with diameters exceeding 10 cm. Furthermore, hail occurrence exceeded 2 cm in fourteen days and 4 cm in seven days during August 2022. The size and the days number constituted new records in Catalonia for at least the last 30 years. The analysis has compared the thermodynamic values derived from the sounding of Barcelona with the climatic data for 1998–2022 (25 years of data). This fact has allowed the selection and evaluation of different thermodynamic parameters’ behaviour during hail days in Catalonia. In this research, the precipitable water mass provided the best results as a hail forecaster. Second, the study has evaluated if the different parameters have a significant trend during the study period. The answer is yes in all cases, but some parameters presented a stepped rise while others increased smoothly. Finally, the research has analysed if the parameter values during August 2022 were extraordinary compared with the rest of the period. In this case, the thermodynamic parameters nature was well correlated with the hail size and occurrence maximums of August 2022.

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Shape of hail and its thermodynamic characteristics related to records in Catalonia

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Evaluation of the Radar Echo Tops in Catalonia: Relationship with Severe Weather

Evaluation of the Radar Echo Tops in Catalonia: Relationship with Severe Weather

Major Role of Marine Heatwave and Anthropogenic Climate Change on a Giant Hail Event in Spain

Thermodynamic Conditions during August 2022 in Catalonia: The Monthly Record of Hail Days, Hail Size and the Differences in the Climatic Values

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