Effects of a Mountain Wave Windstorm at the Surface

Abstract

A mountain wave windstorm in 1993 is documented for the Taku River Valley near Juneau, Alaska. The mountain wave produces a mesoscale pressure response that appears to enhance local gap flow and complicates efforts to separate the two forcing mechanisms. In addition, the Nested Grid Model is evaluated in terms of its ability to predict atmospheric structure favorable for the development of a mountain wave, since current model resolutions are not small enough to predict the event itself. In the 1993 case, numerical guidance is shown to have some value in the prediction of an atmospheric state conducive to the development of the windstorm.