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Northwest flow snowfall in the Southern Appalachians: spatial and synoptic patterns (2004)
| Venue: | Proceedings of the 61 st Eastern Snow Conference |
| Citations: | 2 - 1 self |
BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{Perry04northwestflow,
author = {Baker Perry and Charles E. Konrad},
title = {Northwest flow snowfall in the Southern Appalachians: spatial and synoptic patterns},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 61 st Eastern Snow Conference},
year = {2004},
pages = {179--189}
}
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Abstract
Northwest flow (NWF) snowfall events are common occurrences in parts of the southern Appalachian Mountains and constitute a significant portion of annual snowfall totals on windward slopes due to orographic enhancement. The synoptic processes and spatial patterns of these events are dynamic and highly variable, which makes forecasting snow accumulations challenging. In this paper, we discuss the synoptic climatology and spatial patterns of NWF snowfall for the time period October 1980 to May 1990. In particular, we identify the synoptic patterns and associated topographic controls on the spatial patterns of NWF snowfall in the region. Snowfall events are defined using a combination of hourly observations from first-order stations and daily snowfall reports from cooperative stations. These events are manually classified into common synoptic groups using NOAA’s Daily Weather Maps weekly series. Using National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Reanalysis Data, we develop and compare composites of synoptic fields associated with light and heavy snowfall events across northwestern North Carolina and southeastern West Virginia.
Keyphrases
synoptic pattern southern appalachian spatial pattern northwest flow snowfall nwf snowfall snowfall event windward slope reanalysis data synoptic field time period october synoptic process common synoptic group associated topographic control annual snowfall total heavy snowfall event environmental prediction synoptic climatology northwestern north carolina daily snowfall report first-order station hourly observation using national center significant portion orographic enhancement forecasting snow accumulation southeastern west virginia common occurrence southern appalachian mountain cooperative station
