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Mesoscale spiral vortex embedded within a Lake Michigan snow squall band - High resolution satellite observations and numerical model simulationsIt is known that Great Lakes snow squall convection occurs in a variety of different modes depending on various factors such as air-water temperature contrast, boundary-layer wind shear, and geostrophic wind direction. An exceptional and often neglected source of data for mesoscale cloud studies is the ultrahigh resolution multispectral data produced by Landsat satellites. On October 19, 1972, a clearly defined spiral vortex was noted in a Landsat-1 image near the southern end of Lake Michigan during an exceptionally early cold air outbreak over a still very warm lake. In a numerical simulation using a three-dimensional Eulerian hydrostatic primitive equation mesoscale model with an initially uniform wind field, a definite analog to the observed vortex was generated. This suggests that intense surface heating can be a principal cause in the development of a low-level mesoscale vortex.
Document ID
19880060530
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Lyons, Walter A.
(R-Scan Corp. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Keen, Cecil S.
(R-Scan Corp. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Hjelmfelt, Mark
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Pease, Steven R.
(R-Scan Corp. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 1988
Publication Information
Publication: Monthly Weather Review
Volume: 116
ISSN: 0027-0644
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Accession Number
88A47757
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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