Sea-breeze Front Research Articles

A method of identifying and locating sea‐breeze fronts in north‐eastern Brazil by remote sensing

AbstractA method of identifying sea‐breeze fronts by remote sensing (visible and infrared data from the GOES‐8 satellite) was applied to north‐eastern Brazil. The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of observed sea‐breeze fronts and the average distance they penetrate inland at 1800 UTC. During the dry season (between September and December) in 2000, the highest frequency of sea‐breeze fronts was recorded on the northern fringe of the study area. The sea‐breeze fronts penetrated furthest inland between September and November, with a maximum distance from the coast at Ceará of 100 km. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The impact of land cover change on storms in the Sydney Basin, Australia

This study has used a numerical model (RAMS) at 1 km horizontal grid intervals over the Sydney Basin to assess the impact of land cover change on storms. Multiple storms using the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data were simulated with pre-European settlement land cover then re-simulated with land cover representing Sydney's current land use pattern. While all simulated storms did not respond to the change in land cover consistently, storms of similar types responded in comparable ways. All simulated synoptically forced storms (e.g. those triggered by cold fronts) were unresponsive to a changed land surface, while local convective storms were highly sensitive to the triggering mechanism associated with land surface influences. Storms travelling over the smoother agricultural land in the south-west of the Sydney Basin experienced an increase in velocity, and in a special case, the dense urban surface of Sydney's city core appears to trigger an intense convective storm. It is shown that the dynamical setting predominantly triggers storm outbreaks. This is seen most clearly in the isolated convective storm category where the sea breeze front often dictates the location of storm cell initiation.

Numerical Simulations of Sea-Breeze Circulations over Northwest Hawaii*

AbstractSea-breeze cases during 23–28 June 1978 over northwest Hawaii are simulated using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Mesoscale Spectral Model (MSM) coupled with an advanced Land Surface Model (LSM) with 3-km horizontal resolution. Subjective analyses show that except for 27 June, the MSM–LSM-predicted onset time, duration, and vertical extent of the sea breezes agree well with observations. The largest mean absolute errors for surface air temperature occur at the coastal stations under strong trade wind conditions (e.g., 23 and 27 June). The model-simulated rainfall distribution in association with sea-breeze fronts is consistent with observations. Sensitivity tests demonstrate the modulation of sea-breeze behavior by surface properties. High-resolution (1 km) MSM–LSM simulations for 23 and 27 June show improvements over the 3-km MSM–LSM in reproducing the observed sea breezes through a better representation of local terrain and a better simulation of orographically enhanced trades channeling through the Waimea Saddle. Deficiencies noted in the model simulations include 1) sea-breeze speeds are more than 2–3 m s−1 weaker than observations, and 2) horizontal penetration of sea breezes is generally overestimated. These deficiencies in the model simulations are primarily related to two factors: one is the underestimation of the trade wind speeds in the initialization from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data that is favoring the farther penetration of the sea breezes, and the other is the uncertainties in the thermal properties of the lava rocks that affect the surface temperature and the sea-breeze speed.

Collision of two sea-breeze fronts observed in Wales

Collision of two sea-breeze fronts observed in Wales

Ensemble‐based data assimilation for thermally forced circulations

The effectiveness of the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) for thermally forced circulations is investigated with simulated observations. A two‐dimensional, nonlinear, hydrostatic, non‐rotating, and incompressible sea breeze model is developed for this purpose with buoyancy and vorticity as the prognostic variables. Model resolution is 4 km horizontally and 50 m vertically. Forcing is maintained through an explicit heating function with additive stochastic noise. Pure forecast experiments reveal that the model exhibits moderate nonlinearity. The strongest nonlinearity occurs along the sea breeze front at the time of peak sea breeze phase. Considerable small‐scale error growth occurs at this phase for vorticity, while buoyancy is dominated by large‐scale error as the direct result of the initial condition uncertainty. In the EnKF experiments, simulated buoyancy observations (with assumed error of 10−3 ms−2) on land surface with 40‐km spacing are assimilated every 3 hours. As a result of their resolution, the observations naturally sample the larger‐scale flow structure. At the first analysis step, the filter is found to remove most of the large‐scale error resulting from the initial conditions and the domain‐averaged error of buoyancy and vorticity is reduced by about 83% and 42%, respectively. Subsequent analyses continue to remove error at a progressively slower rate and the error ultimately stabilizes within about 24 hours for both variables. At later model times, while mostly large‐scale buoyancy errors due to the stochastic heating uncertainty are effectively removed, the filter also performs well at reducing smaller‐scale vorticity errors associated with the sea breeze front. This is an indication that observations also contain useful small‐scale information relevant at the scales of frontal convergence.

Observations and Numerical Simulations of Urban Heat Island and Sea Breeze Circulations over New York City

Observations from two SOund Detection And Ranging (SODAR) units, a 10 m micrometeorological tower and five Automated Surface Observing Stations (ASOS) were examined during several synoptic scale flow regimes over New York City after the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001. An ARPS model numerical simulation was conducted to explore the complex mesoscale boundary layer structure over New York City. The numerical investigation examined the urban heat island, urban roughness effect and sea breeze structure over the New York City region. Estimated roughness lengths varied from 0.7 m with flow from the water to 4 m with flow through Manhattan. A nighttime mixed layer was observed over lower Manhattan, indicating the existence of an urban heat island. The ARPS model simulated a sea-breeze front moving through lower Manhattan during the study period consistent with the observations from the SODARs and the 10-m tower observations. Wind simulations showed a slowing and cyclonic turning of the 10-m air flow as the air moved over New York City from the ocean. Vertical profiles of simulated TKE and wind speeds showed a maximum in TKE over lower Manhattan during nighttime conditions. It appears that this TKE maximum is directly related to the influences of the urban heat island.

A simulation study of dispersion of air borne radionuclides from a nuclear power plant under a hypothetical accidental scenario at a tropical coastal site

Meteorological condition in coastal regions is diurnally variable and spatially heterogeneous due to complex topography, land–sea interface, etc. A wide range of dispersion conditions is possible on a given day in the coastal regions. In case of inadvertent accidental situations, though unlikely, it would be necessary to examine the potentially severe case among different dynamically occurring local atmospheric conditions for dispersion and its range of impact around a nuclear power plant for safety analysis. In this context, dispersion of air borne radioactive effluents during a hypothetical accidental scenario from a proposed prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at an Indian coastal site, Kalpakkam, is simulated using a 3-D meso-scale atmospheric model MM5 and a random walk particle dispersion model FLEXPART. A simulation carried out for a typical summer day predicted the development of land–sea breeze circulation and thermal internal boundary layer (TIBL) formation, which have been confirmed by meteorological observations. Analysis of dose distribution shows that the maximum dose for releases from a 100 m stack occurs at two places within 4 km distance during sea breeze/TIBL fumigation hours. Maximum dose also occurred during nighttime stable conditions. Results indicate that, on the day of present study, the highest concentrations occurred during periods of TIBL fumigation rather than during stable atmospheric conditions. Further, the area of impact (plume width at the surface) spreads up to a down wind distance of 4 km during fumigation condition. Simulation over a range of 25 km has shown turning of plume at the incidence of sea breeze circulation and two different dispersion patterns across the sea breeze front. These results are significant in comparison to the expected pattern shown by Gaussian plume model used for routine analysis.

Convective Initiation ahead of the Sea-Breeze Front

Abstract In earlier work, a three-dimensional cloud model was used to simulate the interaction between the sea-breeze front (SBF) and front-parallel horizontal convective rolls (HCRs), resulting in the SBF systematically encountering roll updrafts and downdrafts as it progressed inland. Interestingly, deep convection was spawned above an HCR updraft ahead of the SBF as the front approached, well before the inevitable front–roll merger. Ostensibly, both the sea-breeze and roll circulations were required for deep convection to be present in this case at all because convection was entirely absent when either phenomenon was removed. Further analysis reveals why both circulations were necessary yet not sufficient for the excitation of deep convection in this case. The sea-breeze circulation (SBC) made its upstream (inland) environment more favorable for convection by bringing about persistent if gentle lifting over an extended region stretching well ahead of the SBF. This persistent ascent established a moist and cool tongue of air, manifested by a visible and/or subvisible cloud feature termed the cloud shelf emanating ahead of the front. Though this lifting moistened and destabilized the environment, the roll’s direct and indirect effects on this moist tongue were also required. The former consisted of a moisture plume lofted by the roll updraft, and the latter consisted of obstacle effect gravity waves generated as the roll drafts penetrated through the top of the boundary layer, into the SBC-associated offshore flow farther aloft. These provided the missing spark, which led to rapid growth of cumulus above the roll updraft, drawing first from air located above the boundary layer. Once established, deep convection above the roll updraft modulated cloudiness above the approaching SBF, at first suppressing it but subsequently assuring its reestablishment and eventual growth into deep convection, again prior to the front–roll merger. This resulted from the influence of gravity waves excited owing to heating and cooling within the roll cloud.

Homogeneous Ice Nucleation in Subtropical and Tropical Convection and Its Influence on Cirrus Anvil Microphysics

Abstract This study uses a unique set of microphysical measurements obtained in a vigorous, convective updraft core at temperatures between −33° and −36°C, together with a microphysical model, to investigate the role of homogeneous ice nucleation in deep tropical convection and how it influences the microphysical properties of the associated cirrus anvils. The core and anvil formed along a sea-breeze front during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers–Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL–FACE). The updraft core contained two distinct regions as traversed horizontally: the upwind portion of the core contained droplets of diameter 10–20 μm in concentrations of around 100 cm−3 with updraft speeds of 5–10 m s−1; the downwind portion of the core was glaciated with high concentrations of small ice particles and stronger updrafts of 10–20 m s−1. Throughout the core, rimed particles up to 0.6-cm diameter were observed. The anvil contained high concentrations of both small particles and large aggregates. Thermodynamic analysis suggests that the air sampled in the updraft core was mixed with air from higher altitudes that descended along the upwind edge of the cloud in an evaporatively driven downdraft, introducing free-tropospheric cloud condensation nuclei into the updraft below the aircraft sampling height. Farther downwind in the glaciated portion of the core, the entrained air contained high concentrations of ice particles that inhibit droplet formation and homogeneous nucleation. Calculations of droplet and ice particle growth and homogeneous ice nucleation are used to investigate the influence of large ice particles lofted in updrafts from lower levels in this and previously studied tropical ice clouds on the homogeneous nucleation process. The preexisting large ice particles act to suppress homogeneous nucleation through competition via diffusional and accretional growth, mainly when the updrafts are < 5 m s−1. In deep convective updrafts > 5–10 m s−1, the anvil is the depository for the small, radiatively important ice particles (homogeneously nucleated) and the large ice particles from below (heterogeneously or secondarily produced, or recycled).

속초연안에서 대기순환의 특성

Using three-dimensional non-hydrostatical numerical model with one way double nesting technique, atmo­spheric circulation in the mountainous coastal region in summer was investigated from August 13 through 15, 1995. During the day, synoptic westerly wind blows over Mt. Mishrung in the west of a coastal city, Sokcho toward the East Sea, while simultaneously, easterly upslope wind combined with both valley wind from plain (coast) toward mountain and sea-breeze from sea toward inland coast blows toward the top of the mountain. Two different directional wind systems confront each other in the mid of eastern slope of the mountain and the upslope wind goes up to the height over 2 km, becoming an easterly return flow in the upper level over the sea and making sea-breeze front with two kinds of sea-breeze circulations of a small one in the coast and a large one in the open sea. Convective boundary layer is developed with a thickness of about 1km over the ground in the upwind side of the mountain in the west and a thickness of thermal internal boundary layer from the coast along the eastern slope of the mountain is only confined to less than 200 m. On the other hand, after sunset, no prohibition of upslope wind generated during the day and downward wind combined with mountain wind from mountain towardplain and land-breeze from land toward under nocturnal radiative cooling of the ground surfaces should intensify westerly downslope wind, resulting in the formation of wind storm. As the wind storm moving down along the eastern slop causes the development of internal gravity waves with hydraulic jump motion in the coast, bounding up toward the upper level of the coastal sea, atmospheric circulation with both onshore and offshore winds like sea-breeze circulation forms in the coastal sea within 70 km until midnight and after that, westerly wind prevails in the coast and open seas.

The meteorological importance of sea‐breezes in the Levant region of Spain

WeatherVolume 59, Issue 10 p. 282-286 Research Article The meteorological importance of sea-breezes in the Levant region of Spain Jorge Olcina Cantos, Jorge Olcina Cantos Climatology Laboratory, University of Alicante, SpainSearch for more papers by this authorCésar Azorín Molina, Corresponding Author César Azorín Molina cesar.azorin@ua.es Climatology Laboratory, University of Alicante, SpainLaboratorio de Climatología, Instituto Universitario de Geografía, Universidad de Alicante, Campus de San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690-Alicante, Spain.Search for more papers by this author Jorge Olcina Cantos, Jorge Olcina Cantos Climatology Laboratory, University of Alicante, SpainSearch for more papers by this authorCésar Azorín Molina, Corresponding Author César Azorín Molina cesar.azorin@ua.es Climatology Laboratory, University of Alicante, SpainLaboratorio de Climatología, Instituto Universitario de Geografía, Universidad de Alicante, Campus de San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690-Alicante, Spain.Search for more papers by this author First published: 29 December 2006 https://doi.org/10.1256/wea.176.03Citations: 10AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume59, Issue10October 2004Pages 282-286 RelatedInformation

An Objective Technique for Verifying Sea Breezes in High-Resolution Numerical Weather Prediction Models

An ongoing challenge in mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) is to determine the ideal method for verifying the performance of high-resolution, detailed forecasts. Traditional objective techniques that evaluate NWP model performance based on point error statistics may not be positively correlated with the value of forecast information for certain applications of mesoscale NWP, and subjective evaluation techniques are often costly and time consuming. As a result, objective event-based verification methodologies are required in order to determine the added value of high-resolution NWP models. This paper presents a new objective technique to verify predictions of the sea-breeze phenomenon over east-central Florida by the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) NWP model. The contour error map (CEM) technique identifies sea-breeze transition times in objectively analyzed grids of observed and forecast wind, verifies the forecast sea-breeze transition times against the observed times, and computes the mean post-sea-breeze wind direction and wind speed to compare the observed and forecast winds behind the sea-breeze front. The CEM technique improves upon traditional objective verification techniques and previously used subjective verification methodologies because it is automated, accounts for both spatial and temporal variations, correctly identifies and verifies the sea-breeze transition times, and provides verification contour maps and simple statistical parameters for easy interpretation. The CEM algorithm details are presented and validated against independent meteorological assessments of the sea-breeze transition times and results from a previously published subjective evaluation.

Proper orthogonal decomposition in the analysis of a laboratory simulation of land- and sea-breeze regimes

A land- and sea-breeze (LSB) circulation under a calm stably stratified environment was simulated in the laboratory using a temperature-controlled water tank. The floor of the tank was divided into two sections representing land and sea. Two heat exchangers, each of them connected to a thermostat, simulated the diurnal thermal cycle typically experienced by the surface in coastal zones. A third heat exchanger positioned at the top of the tank provided a stable thermal stratification. Particle-tracking velocimetry was applied to evaluate the two-dimensional velocity field in the vertical centreline section of the tank orthogonal to the coastline, while a rack of thermocouples measured the vertical temperature profile near the coastline and further inland. It is shown that the overall flow consists of a closed circulation caused by the periodic change of the horizontal temperature difference between land and sea surfaces. Furthermore, the formations of cellular convection during the first phase of warming of the land-side as well as the genesis of the sea-breeze front were detected and analysed. Application of the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique allowed the vortical large-scale structures in the flow to be determined. The results suggest that the energy contained in the first POD eigenmodes rapidly converged with the first mode, associated with the overall LSB circulation, being dominant with 73% of the energy. The other less energetic modes were mainly associated with the cellular convection.

Observed and modelled climatology of the land–sea breeze circulation over the Persian Gulf

AbstractA combination of observations and a numerical model revealed the meso‐scale structure of the near‐surface atmospheric conditions over the Persian Gulf. Low‐level winds were dominated by a single, coherent, perennial land–sea breeze circulation (LSBC) that varied seasonally and diurnally. In summer the sea breeze was deeper and wider than in winter. At night the core of the LSBC over the Gulf was confluent with uplift, whereas in daytime it was difluent with subsidence. Sensitivity tests with the model revealed the influence on the LSBC of the land–sea distribution, orography and the ambient wind. The latter resulted in different conditions over the north, east, south and west coasts. Over the north coast, where the opposing ambient wind created a sea breeze front, landward penetration was very limited; over the south coast it was over 250 km. The thermal effect of the Iranian mountains accentuated the depth and penetration, landward and seaward, of the LSBC, thus influencing the duration of the land and sea breezes over the east coast. From spring to autumn the marine boundary layer over the Gulf was shallow, cool, moist and stable, with strong vertical gradients of temperature and humidity at its top. Its depth increased in the ambient flow from northwest to southeast and also, in daytime, from west to east, because of different magnitudes of the subsidence in the sea breeze circulation over the west and east coasts. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society

Observational and Numerical Study on the Influence of Large-Scale Flow Direction and Coastline Shape on Sea-Breeze Evolution

In this study radar, surface observations and numericalsimulations are used to examine the inland penetrationand intensity of the sea breeze during various large-scaleflow regimes along the curved coastline of the Carolinas,U.S.A. The results clearly indicate that the flow directionrelative to the curved coastline has a significant effecton the sea-breeze evolution.Overall, during northerly flow regimes alongthe curved North Carolina coast, observationsand numerical simulations show that the sea-breezefront has a tendency to remain close to the south-facingcoast. During these same flow regimes the frontmoves further inland relative to the east-facingcoast. The sea-breeze front during westerly flowcases progressed further inland relative to the southcoast and less so from the east-facing coastline.South-westerly flow allows the sea breeze to moveinland from both coastlines but the coastal shapeinfluence makes the inland penetration less fromthe easterly facing beaches. During periods of lightonshore flow (south-east), the sea breeze movesconsiderable distances inland but is not discernableuntil later in the afternoon. The simulations indicatedthat the sea-breeze intensity is greatest (least) when thelarge-scale flow direction has an offshore (onshore)component. Model results indicate the existence of astrong front well inland in the late afternoon duringlight onshore flow. Also noted was that the simulatedsea-breeze front develops earlier in the afternoon duringoffshore regimes and later in the day as the large-scaleflow becomes more onshore. It is concluded that thecoastline shape and coast-relative flow direction areimportant factors in determining how the sea-breezecirculation evolves spatially.

Frentes de brisa en el Levante español

Breeze regimes are main winds circulation during warm period of the year (April-September) in the East of the Iberian Peninsula. This analysis offers a typology of sea breeze fronts in Spanish Mediterranean area and considers its close relationship with thermal features in Mediterranean sea all year along. The paper studies meteorological causes connected with this atmospheric phenomenon and emphasizes about pluviometric importance in contact with origin of instable sea breeze fronts in mountain areas near to Mediterranean coast.

Verification of Nowcasts from the WWRP Sydney 2000 Forecast Demonstration Project

The verification phase of the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Sydney 2000 Forecast Demonstration Project (FDP) was intended to measure the skill of the participating nowcast algorithms in predicting the location of convection, rainfall rate and occurrence, wind speed and direction, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, and hail location and size. An additional question of interest was whether forecasters could improve the quality of the nowcasts compared to the FDP products alone. The nowcasts were verified using a variety of statistical techniques. Observational data came from radar reflectivity and rainfall analyses, a network of rain gauges, and human (spotter) observations. The verification results showed that the cell tracking algorithms predicted the location of the strongest cells with a mean error of about 15–30 km for a 1-h forecast, and were usually more accurate than an extrapolation (Lagrangian persistence) forecast. Mean location errors for the area tracking schemes were on the order of 20 km. Almost all of the algorithms successfully predicted the frequency of rain throughout the forecast period, although most underestimated the frequency of high rain rates. The skill in predicting rain occurrence decreased very quickly into the forecast period. In particular, the algorithms could not predict the precise location of heavy rain beyond the first 10–20 min. Using radar analyses as verification, the algorithms' spatial forecasts were consistently more skillful than simple persistence. However, when verified against rain gauge observations at point locations, the algorithms had difficulty beating persistence, mainly due to differences in spatial and temporal resolution. Only one algorithm attempted to forecast gust fronts. The results for a limited sample showed a mean absolute error of 7 km h−1 and mean bias of 3 km h−1 in the speed of the gust fronts during the FDP. The errors in sea-breeze front forecasts were half as large, with essentially no bias. Verification of the hail associated with the 3 November tornadic storm showed that the two algorithms that estimated hail size and occurrence successfully diagnosed the onset and cessation of the hail to within 30 min of the reported sightings. The time evolution of hail size was reasonably well captured by the algorithms, and the predicted mean and maximum hail diameters were consistent with the observations. The Thunderstorm Interactive Forecast System (TIFS) allowed forecasters to modify the output of the cell tracking nowcasts, primarily using it to remove cells that were insignificant or diagnosed with incorrect motion. This manual filtering resulted in markedly reduced mean cell position errors when compared to the unfiltered forecasts. However, when forecasters attempted to adjust the storm tracks for a small number of well-defined intense cells, the position errors increased slightly, suggesting that in such cases the objective guidance is probably the best estimate of storm motion.

The 3 November Tornadic Event during Sydney 2000: Storm Evolution and the Role of Low-Level Boundaries

Several severe thunderstorms, including a tornadic supercell, developed on the afternoon of 3 November 2000, during the Sydney 2000 Forecast Demonstration Project. Severe weather included three tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, hail to 7-cm diameter, and heavy rain causing flash flooding. A unique dataset was collected including data from two Doppler radars, a surface mesonet, enhanced upper-air profiling, storm photography, and a storm damage survey. Synoptic-scale forcing was weak and mesoscale factors were central to the development of severe weather. In particular, low-level boundaries such as gust fronts and the sea-breeze front played critical roles in the initiation and enhancement of storms, the motion of storms, and the generation of rotation at low levels. The complex and often subtle boundary interactions that led to the development of the tornadic supercell in this case highlight the need for advanced detection and prediction tools to improve the warning capacity for such events.

A Numerical Study on the Nocturnal Frontogenesis of the Sea-breeze Front

A numerical simulation of a sea-breeze front (SBF) is carried out to investigate the nocturnal frontogenesis (FG) phenomenon that occurs as the SBF propagates inland during the nighttime. At first, we reproduce the FG event of the nighttime SBF based on high-resolution numerical modeling. Then, to reveal its formation mechanism, the FG equation is used, and contributions of each term in the FG equation are estimated for explaining this nocturnal FG event. The results show that the nocturnal FG event of the nighttime SBF: (1) is mostly attributed to the confluence effect due to the horizontal velocity convergence and intensification of the horizontal potential temperature gradient at the front; (2) is partly attributed to the no significant tendency of the turbulence effect associated with the surface cooling.

On nowcasting wind shear induced turbulence over Chennai air field

With the newly installed Doppler Weather Radar at Cyclone Detection Radar station, Chennai during October 2001, it has been made possible to analyse the meteorological conditions conducive for the wind shear induced turbulence experienced by the pilots in the approach runway at the time of landing and take-off. The radar has been put into operation w.e.f. 21 February, 2002. Wind shears reported during February – October 2002, have been critically analysed in this study. The three dimensional shear (3DS), a combination of radial, azimuthal and elevation shears, gives a first hand information atleast half an hour before the occurrence of shear induced moderate turbulence when its value exceeds 16mps/km. The 3DS of more than 20mps/km is normally associated with turbulence experienced by the pilots. With the availability of sophisticated and vast computing power, it is now possible to delineate the layer at which the shear is active within 3-5 minutes from the receipt of the radar measured volume data by quickly computing elevation / vertical / radial / azimuthal shear etc. However, to arrive at a meaningful conclusion on the threshold values of shears that are conducive for wind shear induced turbulence and to make use of this information to alert the pilots, feed back from the pilots to build a detailed data base is absolutely inevitable. Monitoring of passage of sea breeze front may also be useful to issue wind shear warnings. The time tested Richardson number has also been verified for its ‘outlook predictability’ of the shear induced turbulence around the airport, though it can not pinpoint the exact location and the time at which turbulence is active. It is hoped that with precise, accurate and timely in-flight report about the wind shear experienced by the pilots and based on the experience gained in analyzing such information, it will be possible to issue probable ‘wind shear alert / warning’ in the near future.