Effect of Three-Dimensional Structure on the Stormwide Horizontal Accelerations and Momentum Budget of a Simulated Squall Line

Abstract

Abstract Past studies of the effects of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) on the environmental flow have been limited by data coverage and resolution. In the current study the MCS-scale (stormwide) horizontal accelerations and momentum budget associated with an oceanic MCS are analyzed using output from a high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model integrated over a large domain. The simulation is based on an observed MCS that occurred on 22 February 1993 during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment. An important aspect of both the observed and simulated MCS is its evolution from a quasi-two-dimensional to an asymmetric three-dimensional morphology, which was demonstrated in companion studies to result from the finite length of the MCS interacting with environmental vertical shear that varies in direction with height. Herein, the authors focus on the effects of the three-dimensional structure on MCS-scale horizontal accelerations. The horizontal accelera...