HR: 08:45h
AN: A51E-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Storm Attributes and Cloud Resolution Model Performance in West Africa
AU: * DeLonge, M S
EM: msd8y@virginia.edu
AF: University of Virginia, Department of Environmental Science, 291 McCormick Rm, Charlottesville, VA 22902, United States
AU: Fuentes, J D
EM: jf6s@Virginia.EDU
AF: University of Virginia, Department of Environmental Science, 291 McCormick Rm, Charlottesville, VA 22902, United States
AU: Tao, W
EM: Wei.Kuo.Tao@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes, Branch Code 613.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Kucera, P
EM: pkucera@ucar.edu
AF: NCAR, Research Application Laboratory, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, United States
AU: Jenkins, G
EM: gjenkins@howard.edu
AF: Howard University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, 2355 Sixth Street, NW, Washington DC, 20059, United States
AB: Extensive datasets from the 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) campaign offer fresh opportunities to investigate mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). For this presentation, we use rawinsonde profiles, surface fluxes, radar imagery (horizontal and vertical scans) , and precipitation data collected at the NAMMA field site in Kawsara, Senegal to investigate the temporal evolution of storms that occurred between August 19 and September 16, 2006. Two events, which took place on August 31 and September 7, are emphasized. The August 31st event crossed the coast around 0830 UTC and was of notable interest as this storm was associated with the development of Tropical Storm Gordon in the mid-Atlantic on September 10. The second storm of September 7th was also spatially extensive and organized as it passed over the West African coast around 0800 UTC. This storm did not lead to a tropical depression. A 2-dimensional version of the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud resolution model was initialized with rawinsonde profiles and energy fluxes from both of these case studies to learn how the model represents the growth and intensity of these storms. Model outputs were compared with the vertical reflectivity profiles and spatial distribution of rainfall. Results from this work will be discussed to identify new insights into MCSs and precipitation processes in West Africa, a region where surface-atmosphere interactions from continental and maritime environments are crucial for the development of storms. In addition, key results will be presented to illustrate how well the current configuration of the GCE model reproduces cloud formation and precipitating processes in West Africa.
DE: 3300 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES
DE: 3314 Convective processes
DE: 3354 Precipitation (1854)
DE: 3355 Regional modeling
DE: 3374 Tropical meteorology
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly