The structure of convective rain cells at mid-latitudes

摘要

Rain cells are structures which represent an important component ofconvective precipitation and a study of their properties representsa necessary step both towards improved stochastic models ofsmall-scale precipitation and for the verification of deterministichigh resolution local-area models. The case of intense convectiveprecipitation in the tropics has been analysed in a recent study (von Hardenberg et al., 2003). Here we extend the analysis to mid-latitudes and wepresent results on the structure of convective rain cells observedby radar measurements in Italy. In particular we consider theaverage shape of precipitation cells and its dependence on radarresolution and the distributions of ellipticities.