A Wintertime Gulf Coast Squall Line Observed by EDOP Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract

Abstract An extensive wintertime squall line on 13 January 1995 occurring along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastline is examined using airborne radar observations combined with conventional data analysis. Flight tracks with the ER-2 Doppler radar (EDOP) mounted on the high-altitude (20 km) ER-2 aircraft provided a unique view of the vertical structure of this line. In this paper, the authors document the squall line structure, and compare and contrast this structure with other published cases. The squall line had several prominent features that differ from previous studies: 1) the stratiform region was wide in comparison to more typical systems that are 50–100 km wide; 2) the trailing stratiform region consisted of two to three separate embedded trailing bands rather than one continuous band; 3) vertical motions in the trailing stratiform region were nearly twice as strong as previously reported values, with mean values approaching 1 m s−1 between 7- and 9-km altitude, and larger values (1.5 m s−1) in the em...