VARIATIONAL SUBSYNOPTIC ANALYSIS WITH APPLICATIONS TO SEVERE LOCAL STORMS

Abstract

Sasaki's variational analysis method is used to describe the subsynoptic surface conditions accompanying severe local storms. Observations are extracted from the network of surface stations that routinely report every hour. The variational analysis filters the observations by constraining the meteorological fields to satisfy a set of governing prognostic equations. The filtering is monotonic and is designed to admit space and time scales of the order of 500 km and 10 hr, respectively. The analysis is applied to a severe storm situation on June 10, 1968. The development of an intense squall line from the incipient to mature stage is depicted by an index coupling vertical motion and surface moisture. The results demonstrate that dynamically consistent time continuity can be achieved by using the variational method.