Multiscale study of a convectively driven high wind event

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate a convectively-driven high wind event which affected the Texas Panhandle during the late afternoon/early evening hours of 30 May 2001. This storm was characterized by a feature referred to as a bow echo, a phenomenon that has typically been associated with straight-line winds. To accomplish the analysis, WSR-88D level II radar data from the Lubbock, Texas, radar site was used to diagnose storm structure based upon reflectivity and radial velocity data. Also, West Texas Mesonet data, along with the standard surface observing network, was obtained to identify storm-scale features in the low levels and investigate how these features may have affected the fransition from a supercellular convective mode to a linear bow echo mode. To complement the sparse upper-air network, an MM5 simulation was run for the event to diagnose features in the near-storm environment that may have had an organizing influence.