Convection Initiation Near Mesoscale Convective Vortices Christopher A. Davis and Stanley B. Trier National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, Colorado, USA Global View of MCCs (MCVs?) 60-h Radar Composite Animation (00 UTC 11 June 12 UTC 13 June, 2003) Mesoscale Convective Vortices Produced within organized convection Dynamically balanced Longevity depends on initiating new convection Potential for QPF skill enhancement Lifting and moistening above the PBL: a mesoscale imprint WMI Lear Jet Bow Echo and MCV Experiment (BAMEX) 20 May 6 July, 2003 NRL P-3 MIPS NRL P-3NOAA P-3 MCV Origins IOP 1IOP 4IOP 5 IOP 8IOP UTC 24 May 0600 UTC 1 June 1100 UTC 5 June 0600 UTC 11 June 0500 UTC 29 June 150 km IOP hPa Locally Unstable dBz m/s T(C) 2120 UTC 5 June Mean Wind Profile IOP hPa -3 m/s Widespread Instability dBz 2050 UTC 29 June Mean Wind Profile IOP hPa Widespread Instability m/s dBz X 1730 UTC 11 June Mean Wind Profile Balance of MCVs Average T inside RMW T outside RMW Thin line: balanced; Heavy line: obs Based on nonlinear balance T v (K) Vertical Velocity (Turquoise 3 cm/s) Vertical Displacements (200-m contour interval, negative values dashed) Curves with arrowheads denote back trajectories from max upward displacement area X denotes approximate vortex center Vertical Motion and Vertical Displacement: Idealized Simulations Trier et al. 2000, Mon. Wea. Rev. Summary Vortex-induced vertical displacement imprints mesoscale organization of convection Convection downshear Subsidence upshear Balanced vortices amenable to data assimilation Convective initiation points: coupling between PBL and mesoscale features.
