Case: 31 October 2016

Summary

Closed cell precipitating stratocumulus organization with modest northerly winds

Description

Widespread and relatively closed cell precipitating stratocumulus event with pockets of open cells to the north and east of the Azores region. Boundary layer winds were modest (20-25 kts) and from the north to northeast throughout the event. Multiple periods were having radar signatures suggesting precipitation below cloud base. Inversion heights and/or cloud echo top heights remained consistent throughout the event at approximately 1.7-2.0 km AGL.

Available assets

Standard ARM profiling assets, SEVIRI

Critical period: 06:00-12:00

Widespread stratocumulus with subcloud precipitation

True color MODIS AQUA — Figure 49 True color afternoon MODIS AQUA image with overlaid LES domains. The image domain corresponds to the size of the model forcing domain.