Observed influence of riming, temperature, and turbulence on the fallspeed of solid precipitation

Abstract

Forecasts of the amount and geographic distribution of snow are highly sensitive to a model's parameterization of hydrometeor fallspeed. Riming is generally thought to lead to particles with a higher mass and terminal velocity. Yet models commonly assume that heavily rimed particles such as graupel have a fixed density and that their settling speed is unaffected by turbulence in storms. Here we show automated measurements of photographed hydrometeor shape and fallspeed using a new instrument placed in Utah's Wasatch Mountain Range. The data show that graupel in low-turbulence conditions has a size-dependent fallspeed distribution with a mode near 1 m s−1, a result that is generally consistent with prior observations. However, the distributions are broadened by turbulence and there is a correspondence between particle density and air temperature. In high turbulence and at low temperatures, any sensitivity of fallspeed to particle size disappears.