Objectively Diagnosing Characteristics of Mesoscale Organization from Radar Reflectivity and Ambient Winds

Abstract

In the classical model of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), a system generates new convective cells on the down-shear side of its cold pool, with the cells fed at low levels from the front, and the stratiform cloud trailing behind the system in the up-shear direction, where “front” and “behind” typically refer to the system’s ground-relative velocity. In this study we present an algorithm for identifying and tracking MCSs in radar reflectivity data, and objectively diagnosing organisational characteristics related to the classical model, namely the offset of stratiform cloud from convective cloud relative to system velocity, the low-level inflow direction, and the shear-relative tilt and ..