A case study of snowstorm gusts and blowing/drifting snow

Content Provider	Scilit
Author	Maki, Masayuki Nakai, Sento Yagi, Tsuruhei Nakamura, Hideomi
Copyright Year	1993
Description	The mechanisms of strong winds associated with snow clouds, and the relationship between strong winds and blowing/drifting snow, were investigated. A snowstorm occurred with a typical L-mode snow band which was generated and organized longitudinally during a continental cold-air outbreak over the Sea of Japan. Doppler radar observations revealed that the snow band consisted of small echo cells arranged along the direction of the snow band. When one of the echo cells passed, blowing/drifting snow was generated and intensified by a snow cloud-induced gust, and the horizontal visibility near the ground surface was significantly decreased. Doppler radar and radiosonde data showed that the gust was due to the cold air outflow (CAO) from the snow clouds. The leading edge of the CAO was about 9 km ahead of the center of the snow cloud and the depth of the CAO was about 600 m near the forward flank of the snow cloud. The CAO was caused by a downdraft at the center of the snow cloud, which was initiated at a height of about 1.3 km and with a velocity in excess of 1 $ms^{−1}$. The observed CAO speed was explained by the theory of the gravity current.
Related Links	https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/DC99F0CDC537533653DDF7E1EF68E99C/S026030550001140Xa.pdf/div-class-title-a-case-study-of-snowstorm-gusts-and-blowing-drifting-snow-div.pdf
Ending Page	148
Page Count	7
Starting Page	142
ISSN	02603055
e-ISSN	17275644
DOI	10.1017/s026030550001140x
Journal	Annals of Glaciology
Volume Number	18
Language	English
Publisher	Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publisher Date	1993-01-01
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Annals of Glaciology Atmospheric Sciences Snow Cloud Snow Band drifting Snow
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Earth-Surface Processes