Convection Initiation and Bore Formation Following the Collision of Mesoscale Boundaries over a Developing Stable Boundary Layer: A Case Study from PECAN

• Published in: Monthly weather review 2021-07, Vol.149 (7), p.2351-2367
• Main Authors: Lin, Guo, Grasmick, Coltin, Geerts, Bart, Wang, Zhien, Deng, Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air masses; Airborne sensing; Boundaries; Boundary layers; Case studies; Cold front; Cold fronts; Convection; Density currents; Lidar; Lidar measurements; Lofting; Observational studies; Outflow; Solitary waves; Solitons; Spatial discrimination; Spatial resolution; Stable boundary layer; Tidal bores
• ISSN: 0027-0644; 1520-0493
• DOI: 10.1175/MWR-D-20-0282.1

This observational study documents the consequences of a collision between two converging shallow atmospheric boundaries over the central Great Plains on the evening of 7 June 2015. This study uses data from a profiling airborne Raman lidar [the compact Raman lidar (CRL)] and other airborne and ground-based data collected during the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) field campaign to investigate the collision between a weak cold front and the outflow from an MCS. The collision between these boundaries led to the lofting of high-CAPE, low-CIN air, resulting in deep convection, as well as an undular bore. Both boundaries behaved as density currents prior to collision. Because the MCS outflow boundary was denser and less deep than the cold-frontal air mass, the bore propagated over the latter. This bore was tracked by the CRL for about 3 h as it traveled north over the shallow cold-frontal surface and evolved into a soliton. This case study is unique by using the high temporal and spatial resolution of airborne Raman lidar measurements to describe the thermodynamic structure of interacting boundaries and a resulting bore.