THREE-DIMENSIONAL GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OROGRAPHIC THUNDERSTORM SYSTEM.
Abstract
A thunderstorm, which developed over the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona on 1 August 1961, is studied with the use of surface stereo-pair and aerial photographs. The photographs are used to investigate both the vertical growth rate of the tops of numerous cloud elements and the rate of increase of mass within the entire cloud system. Photographic evidence of the unique cloud feature which signifies the transition from a cumulus congestus into a cumulonimbus is presented. Analyses of surface data from the mesometeorological network around the Peaks reveal that the precipitation area remained near the leeward slopes as the mountain-anchored cloud mass extended to the north. Based on this and previous studies, the energy available for the growth of cumuli and cumulonimbi are determined; values of the order of 10 to the 22nd power ergs for cumulonimbi agree with values obtained by Braham (J. Meteor, 9:227-242 (1952)), who used an entirely different approach. The Appendix contains a detailed description of the photogrammetric techniques used to obtain measurements from the clouds seen in the aerial photographs. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0637883
Entities
People
- Rodger A. Brown
Organizations
- University of Chicago