Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados
Localized convection in Barbados accounts for hazardous conditions and a significant percentage of the island’s annual rainfall. The feature results in rainfall accumulations exceeding 50 mm in 3 hours or less, over isolated locations. Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) simulations are con...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Meteorology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/630263 |
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| _version_ | 1849411851960451072 |
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| author | Kim Whitehall Sen Chiao Margarette Mayers-Als |
| author_facet | Kim Whitehall Sen Chiao Margarette Mayers-Als |
| author_sort | Kim Whitehall |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Localized convection in Barbados accounts for hazardous conditions and a significant percentage of the island’s annual rainfall. The feature results in rainfall accumulations exceeding 50 mm in 3 hours or less, over isolated locations. Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) simulations are conducted for a rapid convective initiated and heavy precipitation event of 26 August 2008 over Barbados. The simulation results from the 1 km grid resolution domain depict that the shallow topography on the island plays a significant role in enhancing convective activity under weak synoptically disturbed conditions. The model results also demonstrate that the driving forces for the development of deep convective clouds include low-level moisture convergence that form as a result of the temperature differential between the land and the ocean and forced low-level uplift as a result of the blocking by the topography. The high-resolution WRF simulations demonstrate its capability to accurately capture the low-level flow over the island, as well as the orientation of the divergence and convergence patterns throughout the depth of the atmosphere. These results are heartening to use the WRF as a resource for studying deep convection in Barbados for disaster managers and water resource managers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-597ff066c3174afd893e1edb6be7b4a0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-9309 1687-9317 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Meteorology |
| spelling | doaj-art-597ff066c3174afd893e1edb6be7b4a02025-08-20T03:34:39ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93091687-93172013-01-01201310.1155/2013/630263630263Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in BarbadosKim Whitehall0Sen Chiao1Margarette Mayers-Als2Atmospheric Physics Program, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USAMeteorology and Climate Science, San José State University, San Jose, CA 95192-0104, USACaribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Husbands, St. James, BB 23006, BarbadosLocalized convection in Barbados accounts for hazardous conditions and a significant percentage of the island’s annual rainfall. The feature results in rainfall accumulations exceeding 50 mm in 3 hours or less, over isolated locations. Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) simulations are conducted for a rapid convective initiated and heavy precipitation event of 26 August 2008 over Barbados. The simulation results from the 1 km grid resolution domain depict that the shallow topography on the island plays a significant role in enhancing convective activity under weak synoptically disturbed conditions. The model results also demonstrate that the driving forces for the development of deep convective clouds include low-level moisture convergence that form as a result of the temperature differential between the land and the ocean and forced low-level uplift as a result of the blocking by the topography. The high-resolution WRF simulations demonstrate its capability to accurately capture the low-level flow over the island, as well as the orientation of the divergence and convergence patterns throughout the depth of the atmosphere. These results are heartening to use the WRF as a resource for studying deep convection in Barbados for disaster managers and water resource managers.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/630263 |
| spellingShingle | Kim Whitehall Sen Chiao Margarette Mayers-Als Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados Advances in Meteorology |
| title | Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados |
| title_full | Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados |
| title_fullStr | Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados |
| title_short | Numerical Investigations of Convective Initiation in Barbados |
| title_sort | numerical investigations of convective initiation in barbados |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/630263 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kimwhitehall numericalinvestigationsofconvectiveinitiationinbarbados AT senchiao numericalinvestigationsofconvectiveinitiationinbarbados AT margarettemayersals numericalinvestigationsofconvectiveinitiationinbarbados |