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High-Resolution Observations of a Destructive Macroburst

High-Resolution Observations of a Destructive Macroburst AbstractShortly after 0600 UTC (midnight MDT) 9 June 2020, a rapidly intensifying and elongating convective system produced a macroburst and extensive damage in the town of Akron on Colorado’s eastern plains. Instantaneous winds were measured as high as 51.12 m s−1 at 2.3 m AGL from an eddy covariance (EC) tower, and a 50.45 m s−1 wind gust from an adjacent 10-m tower became the highest official thunderstorm wind gust ever measured in Colorado. Synoptic-scale storm motion was southerly, but surface winds were northerly in a postfrontal air mass, creating strong vertical wind shear. Extremely high-resolution temporal and spatial observations allow for a unique look at pressure and temperature tendencies accompanying the macroburst and reveal intriguing wave structures in the outflow. At 10-Hz frequency, the EC tower recorded a 5-hPa pressure surge in 19 s immediately following the strongest winds, and a 15-hPa pressure drop in the following 3 min. Surface temperature also rose 1.5°C in less than 1 min, concurrent with the maximum wind gusts, and then fell sharply by 3.5°C in the following minute. Shifting wind direction observations and an NWS damage survey are suggestive of both radial outflow and a gust front passage, and model proximity soundings reveal a well-mixed surface layer topped by a strong inversion and large low-level vertical wind shear. Despite the greatest risk of severe winds forecast to be northeast of Colorado, convection-allowing model forecasts from 6 to 18 h in advance did show similar structures to what occurred, warranting further simulations to investigate the unique mesoscale and misoscale features associated with the macroburst. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Monthly Weather Review American Meteorological Society

High-Resolution Observations of a Destructive Macroburst

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Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Copyright
Copyright © American Meteorological Society
ISSN
1520-0493
eISSN
1520-0493
DOI
10.1175/MWR-D-20-0412.1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractShortly after 0600 UTC (midnight MDT) 9 June 2020, a rapidly intensifying and elongating convective system produced a macroburst and extensive damage in the town of Akron on Colorado’s eastern plains. Instantaneous winds were measured as high as 51.12 m s−1 at 2.3 m AGL from an eddy covariance (EC) tower, and a 50.45 m s−1 wind gust from an adjacent 10-m tower became the highest official thunderstorm wind gust ever measured in Colorado. Synoptic-scale storm motion was southerly, but surface winds were northerly in a postfrontal air mass, creating strong vertical wind shear. Extremely high-resolution temporal and spatial observations allow for a unique look at pressure and temperature tendencies accompanying the macroburst and reveal intriguing wave structures in the outflow. At 10-Hz frequency, the EC tower recorded a 5-hPa pressure surge in 19 s immediately following the strongest winds, and a 15-hPa pressure drop in the following 3 min. Surface temperature also rose 1.5°C in less than 1 min, concurrent with the maximum wind gusts, and then fell sharply by 3.5°C in the following minute. Shifting wind direction observations and an NWS damage survey are suggestive of both radial outflow and a gust front passage, and model proximity soundings reveal a well-mixed surface layer topped by a strong inversion and large low-level vertical wind shear. Despite the greatest risk of severe winds forecast to be northeast of Colorado, convection-allowing model forecasts from 6 to 18 h in advance did show similar structures to what occurred, warranting further simulations to investigate the unique mesoscale and misoscale features associated with the macroburst.

Journal

Monthly Weather Review – American Meteorological Society

Published: Sep 16, 2021

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