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Abstract Observed supercell updrafts consistently produce the fastest mid- to upper-tropospheric vertical velocities among all modes of convection. Two hypotheses for this feature are investigated. In the dynamic hypothesis, upward, largely rotationally driven pressure gradient accelerations enhance supercell updrafts relative to other forms of convection. In the thermodynamic hypothesis, supercell updrafts have more low-level inflow than ordinary updrafts because of the large vertical wind shear in supercell environments. This large inflow makes supercell updrafts wider than that of ordinary convection and less susceptible to the deleterious effects of entrainment-driven updraft core dilution on buoyancy. These hypotheses are tested using a large suite of idealized supercell simulations, wherein vertical shear, CAPE, and moisture are systematically varied. Consistent with the thermodynamic hypothesis, storms with the largest storm-relative flow have larger inflow, are wider, have larger buoyancy, and have faster updrafts. Analyses of the vertical momentum forcing along trajectories shows that maximum vertical velocities are often enhanced by dynamic pressure accelerations, but this enhancement is accompanied by larger downward buoyant pressure accelerations than in ordinary convection. Integrated buoyancy along parcel paths is therefore a strong constraint on maximum updraft speeds. Thus, through a combination of processes consistent with the dynamic and thermodynamic hypotheses, supercell updrafts are able to realize a larger percentage of CAPE than ordinary updrafts.
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How does vertical wind shear influence updraft characteristics and hydrometeor distributions in supercell thunderstorms?
Abstract Vertical wind shear is known to affect supercell thunderstorms by displacing updraft hydrometeor mass downshear, thereby facilitating the storms’ longevity. Shear also impacts the size of supercell updrafts, with stronger shear leading to wider, less dilute, and stronger updrafts with likely greater hydrometeor production. To more clearly define the role of shear across different vertical layers on hydrometeor concentrations and displacements relative to supercell updrafts, a suite of idealized numerical model simulations of supercells was conducted. Shear magnitudes were systematically varied across the 0–1 km, 1–6 km, and 6–12 km AGL layers while the thermodynamic environment was held fixed. Simulations show that as shear magnitude increases, especially from 1–6 km, updrafts become wider and less dilute with an increase in hydrometeor loading, along with an increase in the low-level precipitation area/rate and total precipitation accumulation. Even with greater updraft hydrometeor loading amid stronger shear, updrafts are more intense in stronger shear simulations due to larger thermal buoyancy owing to wider, less dilute updraft cores. Furthermore, downshear hydrometeor displacements are larger in environments with stronger 1–6 km shear. In contrast, there is relatively less sensitivity of hydrometeor concentrations and displacements to variations in either 0–1 km or 6–12 km shear. Results are consistent across free tropospheric relative humidity sensitivity simulations, which show an increase in updraft size and hydrometeor mass with increasing free tropospheric relative humidity owing to a reduction in entrainment-driven dilution for wider updrafts in moister environments.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2149354
- PAR ID:
- 10519559
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Meteorological Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Weather Review
- ISSN:
- 0027-0644
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-23-0166.1
