A case study of cold-seasonthundersnow in Beijing

Abstract

The characteristics of local thundersnow at fine spatiotemporal scale on 9 and 10 November 2009 in Beijing were analyzed, using wind profiler, microwave radiometer, automatic weather station, Doppler weather radar, and satellite data. Furthermore, the causes of winter convection are discussed. The results showed that it was reflux weather. The cause of the thunder and lightning was the elevated convection above the lower cold and dry air, and the trigger for convection was the short wave trough and convergencein the middle level. This thundersnow event developed from monsoon-like long-lasting water vapor transport at 850 hPa from the South China Sea along with strong instability of, and convergence in, the conveyor layer.

Keywords

• thundersnow
• reflux
• doppler radar
• wind profiler
• radiometer