1. Heavy Ice Precipitation Band in an Oceanic Extratropical Cyclone Observed by GPM/DPR: 1. A Case Study
- Author
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Akiyama, Shizuka, Shige, Shoichi, Yamamoto, Munehisa K., and Iguchi, Toshio
- Abstract
Heavy ice precipitation (HIP) flags in the products of dual‐frequency precipitation radar (DPR) on board the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core satellite indicate the existence of large ice particles. In this study, we analyzed the distribution of a HIP band detected along the warm front of an oceanic extratropical cyclone. The HIP band was more than 125 km long and probably exceeded the 245‐km range of the Ku‐band precipitation radar. We found two zones with distinct microphysical processes in the HIP band. Ice particles near the echo top height showed little change in their median size with height, where frontogenetical updraft was maximum. This suggests that particles are generated and grown in this zone by the updrafts. In the zone below, the particle sizes increased as the height decreased, implying particles aggregate as they fall. Bands of heavy snowfall are often reported in the presence of extratropical cyclones over land. However, observations of bands of heavy snowfall over the ocean are limited. In this study, we detected a band of heavy snowfall occurring over the ocean using satellite‐borne precipitation radar for the first time. This signal had a narrow width of 10–20 km and a length that was likely greater than the 245‐km swath of the Ku‐band radar. We examined the change in precipitation echoes with height for the snowfall to understand how ice particles grow and subsequently result in heavy snowfall. The analysis suggested that in the upper layer of the heavy snowfall band, ice particles are produced and grown by an upward flow, and that in the middle layer, they collide with other ice crystals, resulting in larger crystals, which subsequently fall. Further statistical analysis of similar signals could reveal the structure and driving mechanisms for heavy snowfall over the land and ocean in future studies. We detected a heavy ice precipitation (HIP) band along the warm front of an oceanic cyclone observed by GPM/DPRIce particles are grown by updraft near the echo top height of the HIP band and then aggregate in the zone below
- Published
- 2019
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