Satellite-Derived Cumulus Cloud Statistics for Western Kansas

Abstract

Increasing world population, decreasing grain reserves and current farm total income levels have aroused interest in new methods that may lead to increased crop production across the Great Plains. Precipitation modification schemes are one such method. Success depends on many factors, especially knowledge of cumulus cloud characteristics during the growing season. We present some cumulus cloud statistics for the months May?September based on analysis of once-per-day satellite products for a limited region (western Kansas) and show that frequency, size and distance between cumulus elements vary substantially on a monthly and yearly basis across the study area. More clouds were recorded in the northwest and southeast portions of the study region. Areas of highest cloud numbers migrated from southeast to northwest from May to September for any given year and for the four-year sample. Eightysix percent of all observed clouds had radii less than 4 km with clouds more closely spaced across the central part of the study area. Results should be useful in energy budget, evapotranspiration and other research efforts as well as weather modification programs.