Abstract
Abstract. On 28 February 2018, 57 mm of precipitation associated with a warm conveyor belt (WCB) fell within 21 h over South Korea. To investigate how the large-scale circulation influenced the microphysics of this intense precipitation event, we used radar measurements, snowflake photographs and radiosounding data from the International Collaborative Experiments for Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (ICE-POP 2018). The WCB was identified with trajectories computed with analysis wind fields from the Integrated Forecast System global atmospheric model. The WCB was collocated with a zone of enhanced wind speed of up to 45 m s−1 at 6500 m a.s.l., as measured by a radiosonde and a Doppler radar. Supercooled liquid water (SLW) with concentrations exceeding 0.2 g kg−1 was produced during the rapid ascent within the WCB. During the most intense precipitation period, vertical profiles of polarimetric radar variables show a peak and subsequent decrease in differential reflectivity as aggregation starts. Below the peak in differential reflectivity, the specific differential phase shift continues to increase, indicating early riming of oblate crystals and secondary ice generation. We hypothesise that the SLW produced in the WCB led to intense riming. Moreover, embedded updraughts in the WCB and turbulence at its lower boundary enhanced aggregation by increasing the probability of collisions between particles. This suggests that both aggregation and riming occurred prominently in this WCB. This case study shows how the large-scale atmospheric flow of a WCB provides ideal conditions for rapid precipitation growth involving SLW production, riming and aggregation. Future microphysical studies should also investigate the synoptic conditions to understand how observed processes in clouds are related to large-scale circulation.
Highlights
Precipitation is the result of a chain of meteorological processes ranging from synoptic to microscales
This study investigates the snowfall microphysics associated with a warm conveyor belt (WCB) during an extreme wintertime precipitation event in South Korea
We combined Doppler dualpolarisation radar measurements, snowflake photographs and radiosonde data with Integrated Forecast System (IFS) data and trajectories to characterise the detailed precipitation growth mechanisms associated with the large-scale WCB ascent
Summary
Precipitation is the result of a chain of meteorological processes ranging from synoptic to microscales. Being a lower-order moment than ZH, it is more influenced by the number concentration such that a high number concentration of small oblate crystals can lead to an increase in Kdp, while ZDR will barely be affected Owing to this wealth of information, polarimetric variables have been extensively used for snowfall microphysical studies (Bader et al, 1987; Andricet al., 2013; Schneebeli et al, 2013; Moisseev et al, 2015; Grazioli et al, 2015). Grazioli et al (2015) suggested that similar peaks in Kdp can result from secondary ice generation (leading to a high number concentration of small anisotropic crystals) or the riming of oblate ice crystals, which increases their density These studies thoroughly analysed dual-polarisation signatures of snowfall microphysics.
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