Multiscale Characteristics of Surface Winds in an Area of Complex Terrain in Northwest Utah

Abstract

AbstractClimatological features of the surface wind on diurnal and seasonal time scales over a 17-yr period in an area of complex terrain at Dugway Proving Ground in northwestern Utah are analyzed, and potential synoptic-scale, mesoscale, and microscale forcings on the surface wind are identified. Analysis of the wind climatology at 26 automated weather stations revealed a bimodal wind direction distribution at times when thermally driven circulations were expected to produce a single primary direction. The two modes of this distribution are referred to as the “northerly” and “southerly” regimes. The northerly regime is most frequent in May, and the southerly regime is most frequent in August. January, May, and August constitute a “tripole seasonality” of the wind evolution. Although both regimes occur in all months, the monthly changes in regime frequency are related to changes in synoptic and mesoscale phenomena including the climatological position of the primary synoptic baroclinic zone in the western United States, interaction of the large-scale flow with the Sierra Nevada, and thermal low pressure systems that form in the Intermountain West in summer. Numerous applications require accurate forecasts of surface winds in complex terrain, yet mesoscale models perform relatively poorly in these areas, contributing to poor operational forecast skill. Knowledge of the climatologically persistent wind flows and their potential forcings will enable relevant model deficiencies to be addressed.