The Oklahoma-Kansas. Preliminary Regional Experiment for STORM-Central

Abstract

During May and June 1985, the Oklahoma-Kansas Preliminary Regional Experiment for STORM-Central (the Oklahoma-KansasPRE-STORM Program) was conducted to investigate the structureand dynamics of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). As the nameimplies, the program was conducted over the Oklahoma and Kansasregions and emulated to some degree the fl-scale network array proposed for the full-scale STORM-Central program. A number ofsensing systems, including Doppler radars, digitized radars, surfacemesonetwork stations, supplemental and National Weather Service(NWS) rawinsondes, wind profilers, a lightning location system, satellite products, and research aircraft were brought together to collectthe data necessary to begin the investigations of MCSs. At the sametime, testing and evaluation of new sensing systems, such as profilersand airborne Doppler radar, were carried out to determine how bestto operate them in a coordinated observing system. Sixteen operational missions were conducted in which one or more MCSs were investigated. Because of the diurnal nature of these systems, most operational missions continued into a second day. Examples of the data collected from several of the observational systems that operated in the program are shown for one of the operational days.