A method of measuring convergence in precipitation using a Doppler radar is described. A case study illustrates the results obtainable. The presence of a ‘wind front’ (sloping shear zone), which could not be related to any feature on the synoptic scale, was revealed (Fig. 6). Layers of convergence and divergence, particularly in association with a frontal inversion, were identified (Fig. 7). Convergence below the front was largely compensated by a pronounced divergence (D ∼ 50 × 10 −5 sec −1 ) immediately above the front. The computed vertical velocities (Fig. 9) showed ascent of the order of 10 −2 mb sec −1 during the rain. Although measurements were made over an area of less than 300 km 2 , the evidence suggests that the variations of convergence were not purely local, but were a consequence of an organized dynamical system on a scale comparable with other features of fronts.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
T. W. Harrold (1966) studied this question.