Radar Analysis of a TAMEX Frontal System

Abstract

During the Taiwan Area Mesoscale Experiment (TAMEX), three Doppler radars complemented enhanced surface and upper-air observations. The focus of the experiment was to better understand the interaction of the terrain with precipitation systems in the production of the important heavy rainfall. The intensive operational period (IOP) number 8 extended from 1400 IST (local standard time) 7 June 1987 until 0800 LST 9 June 1987. During this time, a mesoscale convective system (MCS) formed in the Straits of Taiwan and moved inland. It was interrogated by many observing instruments, including three Doppler radars, over a 6-h period. During this time the front moved through the radar network. The front was shallow and the precipitation widespread, both ahead of and behind the front. The front was only 1.6-km deep over a distance of 100 km. Using velocity-azimuth display (VAD) data, a portion of the frontogenetic function was computed during the times the front was in the vicinity of the radar. The increase in both convergence and deformation contributed to large values of the frontogenetic function. Dynamic retrieval was also attempted on the data during the time when the front was most favorably located for analysis. The results are very similar to what has been observed both for tropical squall lines and for midlatitude squall lines.