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Conditions Supporting Funnel Cloud Development in Alaska
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks,Fairbanks, AK, USA
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA, Fairbanks, AK, USA
- 1 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks,Fairbanks, AK, USA
- 2 Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
- 3 Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- 4 Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- 5 National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences·Volume 07 (2017)·Pages 223–245·Published 22 March 2017·DOI10.4236/acs.2017.72016
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Abstract
The characteristics and climatology of funnel clouds in Alaska were examined using operational radiosondes, surface meteorological observations, and reanalysis data. Funnel clouds occurred under weak synoptic forcing between May and September between 11 am and 6 pm Alaska Daylight Time with a maximum occurrence in July. They occurred under Convective Available Potential Energy >500 J · kg -1 and strong low-level wind shear. Characteristic atmospheric profiles during funnel cloud events served to develop a retrieval algorithm based on similarity testing. Out of more than 129,000 soundings between 1971 and 2014, 2724, 442, and 744 profiles were similar to the profiles of observed funnel cloud events in the Interior, Alaska West Coast, and Anchorage regions. While the number of reported funnel clouds has increased since 2000, the frequency of synoptic situations favorable for such events has decreased.
KeywordsAlaska Funnel CloudsFunnel Cloud ClimatologySimilarity Retrieval AlgorithmMesoscale Forcing for Funnel Cloud Formation in Alaska
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