Abstract
Disdrometer and condensation nuclei (CN) data are compared with operational polarimetric radar data for one multicell and one supercell storm in eastern Nebraska on 11 June 2018. The radar was located ~14.3 km from the instrumentation location and provided excellent observation time series with new low-level samples every 1–2 min. Reflectivity derived by the disdrometer and radar compared well, especially in regions with high number concentration of drops and reflectivity <45 dBZ. Differential reflectivity also compared well between the datasets, though it was most similar in the supercell storm. Rain rate calculated by the disdrometer closely matched values estimated by the radar when reflectivity and differential reflectivity were used to produce the estimate. Concentration of CN generally followed precipitation intensity for the leading convective cell, with evidence for higher particle concentration on the edges of the convective cell associated with outflow. The distribution of CN in the supercell was more complex and generally did not follow precipitation intensity.
Highlights
Supercell thunderstorms are complex and impactful. They are responsible for a large proportion of significant severe weather events in the United States [1,2] and often contain novel drop size distributions (DSDs) and mixtures of particle types [3,4]
Their microphysics are influenced by condensation nucleus (CN) concentrations in their environment [5,6], with larger inflow CN concentration possibly associated with stronger convective updrafts
The primary goal of this paper is to provide a comparison of polarimetric radar and disdrometer datasets from a supercell storm which passed over a ground-based disdrometer and was near an operational S-band radar
Summary
They are responsible for a large proportion of significant severe weather events in the United States [1,2] and often contain novel drop size distributions (DSDs) and mixtures of particle types [3,4]. Their microphysics are influenced by condensation nucleus (CN) concentrations in their environment [5,6], with larger inflow CN concentration possibly associated with stronger convective updrafts. Secondary goals are to compare radar and disdrometer observations in a multicell storm which occurred earlier, and to present CN observations from both storms
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