A Seven-Year Wind Profiler–Based Climatology of the Windward Barrier Jet along California’s Northern Sierra Nevada

Abstract

This wind profiler?based study highlights key characteristics of the barrier jet along the windward slope of California?s Sierra Nevada. Between 2000 and 2007 roughly 10% of 100 000 hourly wind profiles, recorded at two sites, satisfied the sierra barrier jet (SBJ) threshold criteria described in the text. The mean magnitude of the terrain-parallel flow in the SBJ core (i.e., Vmax) was similar at both sites (?17.5 m s?1) and at a comparable altitude, 500?1000 m above the surface. The cross-mountain wind speed was weak at the altitude of Vmax, consistent with blocked conditions. The seasonal cycle of SBJ occurrences showed a maximum during the cooler months and a minimum in summer. Additionally, the SBJ was stronger in winter than in summer. Because the warm-season (May?September) SBJs were different than their cool-season (October?April) counterparts and occurred during California?s dry season, they were not discussed in detail. An inventory of ?250 cool-season SBJ cases from the two sites was generated (a case contains ≥8 consecutive SBJ profiles). Up to 60% of the nearby cool-season precipitation fell during SBJ cases, and these cases shifted the precipitation down the sierra?s windward slope and enhanced precipitation at the north end of the Central Valley (relative to non-SBJ conditions). The large number of cool-season SBJ cases was stratified by the mean strength and altitude of Vmax and by the case duration. Composite profiles of the along-barrier component for the top- and bottom-20 ranked cases in each of these three SBJ classes reveal stark differences in the magnitude and vertical positioning of the barrier jet. The three SBJ classes yielded uniquely different local precipitation characteristics in proximity to the wind profilers, with the strongest and longest-lived SBJs yielding the greatest precipitation. North American Regional Reanalysis plan-view composites were generated to explore the synoptic conditions responsible for, and to showcase the precipitation distributions associated with, the top- and bottom-20 ranked cases in each of the three classes of SBJs. The composite analyses yielded large contrasts between the SBJ classes that could prove useful in forecasting SBJs and their precipitation impacts. All SBJ classes occurred, on average, in the pre-cold-frontal environment of landfalling winter storms.