Mesoscale flows leading to convective initiation, upscale growth, and heavy precipitation as observed during RELAMPAGO-CACTI

NESBITT, STEPHEN W.; MULHOLLAND , JAKE; SINGH, ITINDERJOT; RIVELLI ZEA, LINA ESTHER ; BORQUE, PALOMA; RASMUSSEN, KRISTEN L.; SCHUMACHER, RUSS S. ; ROWE, ANGELA K. ; MCMURDIE, LYNN A. ; MARQUIS, JAMES; SALIO, PAOLA; ALVAREZ IMAZ, MILAGROS; CANCELADA, MAITE; BECHIS, HERNAN; VARBLE, ADAM C.

Savannah, Georgia

Conferencia; 18th Conference on Mesoscale Processes; 2019

American Meteorological Society

The Remote sensing of Electrification, Lightning, And Mesoscale/microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations (RELAMPAGO) and Clouds, Aerosols, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaigns provided new synergistic observations of repeated convective initiation and upscale growth in and near the Sierras de Cordoba, Argentina from 15 October 2018 through 30 April 2019. This region, throughout the warm season, provides a natural laboratory for understanding orographic convective processes due to the high frequency of convective initiation and wide variety of convective modes and life cycles that result. During RELAMPAGO-CACTI, more than 40 well-observed deep convective events were observed during the project?s extended observing period, while 19 intensive observing periods allowed for detailed aircraft, surface-based in situ, and multi-Doppler radar observations during a variety of storm events.In this presentation, a catalog of RELAMPAGO-CACTI?s collected datasets will be showcased using the project?s diverse observing strategies. These observations include fixed and mobile ground-based radars, GOES-16 Mesoscale Domain Sectors, and surface, remotely-sensed, and sonde-based storm kinematic and thermodynamic observations of storm environments and internal processes such as convective drafts and cold pool outflows. Preliminary analyses of select convective events will investigate (1) synoptic- to meso-scale influences on convective initiation, upscale growth, and storm mode, (2) meso- to convective-scale processes influencing storm vertical motion? and structure, (3) the coupling of flows and microphysical processes influencing the production of heavy instantaneous and accumulated precipitation, and (4) the roles of complex terrain in controlling storm initiation and lifecycle.