Case Study of a Significant Thunderstorm Wake Depression along the Texas Coast: May 29-30, 1981

摘要

An intense thunderstorm complex developed over south Texas on May 29, 1981. The storm system moved southeast over the Lower Texas Coast and adjacent waters during the night and produced a significant mesoscale perturbation in the surface pressure field in the form of a large 'bubble high' and accompanying wake depression. The report is a review of that significant event. It is presented from the viewpoint of forecast office operations and emphasizes mesoscale analysis as a tool for understanding. Upper-air analyses from the LFM, satellite imagery, radar depictions and locally-produced mesocale surface analyses are presented for the lifetime of the thunderstorm complex. Supplementary data and analyses are presented in Appendix 1. The emphasis here is on an analytical approach to finding such systems and anticipating their effects. The review shows that a careful analysis of local surface data, coupled with a basic understanding of recent studies of thunderstorm dynamics, is indispensable in accurate forecasts for these and similar mesoscale systems.