Casebook 18 August 2003: Difference between revisions

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==CSU-CHILL Casebook: 18 August, 2003==
==CSU-CHILL Casebook: 18 August, 2003==


A thunderstorm briefly became severe near the foothills west-southwest of Loveland Colorado during the afternoon of 18 August 2003.  The CSU-CHILL radar made an RHI scan through the echo core of this storm at 2010:32 UTC.  Sweep 3 of this RHI volume intercepted both a nearby light rain area (containing a bright band) as well as the more distant hailstormPolarimetric signatures of both the melting layer in the bright band and the hail shaft in the thunderstorm can be seen.
A thunderstorm briefly became severe near the foothills west-southwest of Loveland Colorado during the afternoon of 18 August 2003.  The CSU-CHILL radar made an RHI scan through the core of this storm at 2010:32 UTC.  (See VCHILL example below.) The <math>Z_{dr}</math> field contains a bright band in the low reflectivity elevated echo layer near the 20 km range pointIn the high reflectivity thunderstorm core, the transition from positive to near 0 dB <math>Z_{dr}</math> values at the surface at a range of 58 km indicates an increasing hail fraction in the precipitation.  Finally, a three-body scattering signature (distinctly negative <math>Z_{dr}</math> at low elevations changing to large positive values at higher elevation angles) can be seen at the far range end of the thunderstorm.  (Note: Thresholding should be selected OFF under the VCHILL Filters tab to make the three body scattering pattern visible.)
 
[http://chill.colostate.edu/java/vchill.php?sweep=xlab.chill.colostate.edu:2510*/dsk/dnf/data/2003/08/18/%20DIR*CHL20030818_201032%20MPRHI1%20RHI*Sweep%2003&center=0.,0.&range=75.&plot=ZDR example in VCHILL]


[[Casebook 31 July 2003|prev]] [[Casebook 22 September 2003|next]]
[[Casebook 31 July 2003|prev]] [[Casebook 22 September 2003|next]]
[[Category:Casebook|20030818]]
[[Category:Casebook|20030818]]
[[Category:Hail]]
[[Category:Hail|20030818]]
[[Category:Bright Band]]
[[Category:Bright Band|20030818]]
[[Category:Three Body Scattering|20030818]]

Latest revision as of 16:01, 25 December 2007

CSU-CHILL Casebook: 18 August, 2003

A thunderstorm briefly became severe near the foothills west-southwest of Loveland Colorado during the afternoon of 18 August 2003. The CSU-CHILL radar made an RHI scan through the core of this storm at 2010:32 UTC. (See VCHILL example below.) The field contains a bright band in the low reflectivity elevated echo layer near the 20 km range point. In the high reflectivity thunderstorm core, the transition from positive to near 0 dB values at the surface at a range of 58 km indicates an increasing hail fraction in the precipitation. Finally, a three-body scattering signature (distinctly negative at low elevations changing to large positive values at higher elevation angles) can be seen at the far range end of the thunderstorm. (Note: Thresholding should be selected OFF under the VCHILL Filters tab to make the three body scattering pattern visible.)

example in VCHILL

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