Observation- and numerical-analysis-based dynamics of the Uttarkashi cloudburst

C. Chaudhuri; S. Tripathi; R. Srivastava; A. Misra

doi:10.5194/angeo-33-671-2015

Observation- and numerical-analysis-based dynamics of the Uttarkashi cloudburst

C. Chaudhuri, S. Tripathi, R. Srivastava, A. Misra

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25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Abstract. A Himalayan cloudburst event, which occurred on 3 August 2012 in the Uttarkashi (30.73° N, 78.45° E) region of Uttarakhand, India, was analyzed. The near-surface atmospheric variables were analyzed to study the formation, evolution, and triggering mechanisms of this cloudburst. In order to improve upon the understanding provided by the observations, numerical simulations were performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, configured with a single domain at 18 km resolution. The model was tuned using variation of different parameterizations (convective, microphysical, boundary layer, radiation, and land surface), and different model options (number of vertical levels, and spin-up time), which resulted in a combination of parameters and options that best reproduced the observed diurnal characteristics of the near-surface atmospheric variables. Our study demonstrates the ability of WRF in forecasting precipitation, and resolving synoptic-scale and mesoscale interactions. In order to better understand the cloudburst, we configured WRF with multiply nested two-way-interacting domains (18, 6, 2 km) centered on the location of interest, and simulated the event with the best configuration derived earlier. The results indicate that two mesoscale convective systems originating from Madhya Pradesh and Tibet interacted over Uttarkashi and, under orographic uplifting and in the presence of favorable moisture condition, resulted in this cloudburst event.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	671-686
Number of pages	16
Journal	Annales Geophysicae
Volume	33
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-33-671-2015
State	Published - 2015
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-10-07
Acknowledgements: The data used in this study are obtained from the Research Data Archive (RDA), which is maintained by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Meteosat-7 satellite imageries are downloaded from the archive of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Space Science and Engineering Center/University of Wisconsin, Madison. The vertical sounding data are downloaded from Department of
Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication. TRMM data used in this study were acquired from NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC). We are thankful to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for providing AWS observations. We want to thank P. Jish Prakash, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, for his valuable help in conceptualization of the problem addressed in this paper
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Atmospheric Science
Geology
Space and Planetary Science

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@article{5766ef9649a1421d97353a83d5fbcfbd,

title = "Observation- and numerical-analysis-based dynamics of the Uttarkashi cloudburst",

abstract = "Abstract. A Himalayan cloudburst event, which occurred on 3 August 2012 in the Uttarkashi (30.73° N, 78.45° E) region of Uttarakhand, India, was analyzed. The near-surface atmospheric variables were analyzed to study the formation, evolution, and triggering mechanisms of this cloudburst. In order to improve upon the understanding provided by the observations, numerical simulations were performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, configured with a single domain at 18 km resolution. The model was tuned using variation of different parameterizations (convective, microphysical, boundary layer, radiation, and land surface), and different model options (number of vertical levels, and spin-up time), which resulted in a combination of parameters and options that best reproduced the observed diurnal characteristics of the near-surface atmospheric variables. Our study demonstrates the ability of WRF in forecasting precipitation, and resolving synoptic-scale and mesoscale interactions. In order to better understand the cloudburst, we configured WRF with multiply nested two-way-interacting domains (18, 6, 2 km) centered on the location of interest, and simulated the event with the best configuration derived earlier. The results indicate that two mesoscale convective systems originating from Madhya Pradesh and Tibet interacted over Uttarkashi and, under orographic uplifting and in the presence of favorable moisture condition, resulted in this cloudburst event.",

author = "C. Chaudhuri and S. Tripathi and R. Srivastava and A. Misra",

note = "KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-10-07 Acknowledgements: The data used in this study are obtained from the Research Data Archive (RDA), which is maintained by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Meteosat-7 satellite imageries are downloaded from the archive of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Space Science and Engineering Center/University of Wisconsin, Madison. The vertical sounding data are downloaded from Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication. TRMM data used in this study were acquired from NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC). We are thankful to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for providing AWS observations. We want to thank P. Jish Prakash, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, for his valuable help in conceptualization of the problem addressed in this paper This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.",

year = "2015",

doi = "10.5194/angeo-33-671-2015",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "33",

pages = "671--686",

journal = "Annales Geophysicae",

issn = "1432-0576",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Observation- and numerical-analysis-based dynamics of the Uttarkashi cloudburst

AU - Chaudhuri, C.

AU - Tripathi, S.

AU - Srivastava, R.

AU - Misra, A.

N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-10-07 Acknowledgements: The data used in this study are obtained from the Research Data Archive (RDA), which is maintained by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Meteosat-7 satellite imageries are downloaded from the archive of the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Space Science and Engineering Center/University of Wisconsin, Madison. The vertical sounding data are downloaded from Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication. TRMM data used in this study were acquired from NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC). We are thankful to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for providing AWS observations. We want to thank P. Jish Prakash, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, for his valuable help in conceptualization of the problem addressed in this paper This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - Abstract. A Himalayan cloudburst event, which occurred on 3 August 2012 in the Uttarkashi (30.73° N, 78.45° E) region of Uttarakhand, India, was analyzed. The near-surface atmospheric variables were analyzed to study the formation, evolution, and triggering mechanisms of this cloudburst. In order to improve upon the understanding provided by the observations, numerical simulations were performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, configured with a single domain at 18 km resolution. The model was tuned using variation of different parameterizations (convective, microphysical, boundary layer, radiation, and land surface), and different model options (number of vertical levels, and spin-up time), which resulted in a combination of parameters and options that best reproduced the observed diurnal characteristics of the near-surface atmospheric variables. Our study demonstrates the ability of WRF in forecasting precipitation, and resolving synoptic-scale and mesoscale interactions. In order to better understand the cloudburst, we configured WRF with multiply nested two-way-interacting domains (18, 6, 2 km) centered on the location of interest, and simulated the event with the best configuration derived earlier. The results indicate that two mesoscale convective systems originating from Madhya Pradesh and Tibet interacted over Uttarkashi and, under orographic uplifting and in the presence of favorable moisture condition, resulted in this cloudburst event.

AB - Abstract. A Himalayan cloudburst event, which occurred on 3 August 2012 in the Uttarkashi (30.73° N, 78.45° E) region of Uttarakhand, India, was analyzed. The near-surface atmospheric variables were analyzed to study the formation, evolution, and triggering mechanisms of this cloudburst. In order to improve upon the understanding provided by the observations, numerical simulations were performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, configured with a single domain at 18 km resolution. The model was tuned using variation of different parameterizations (convective, microphysical, boundary layer, radiation, and land surface), and different model options (number of vertical levels, and spin-up time), which resulted in a combination of parameters and options that best reproduced the observed diurnal characteristics of the near-surface atmospheric variables. Our study demonstrates the ability of WRF in forecasting precipitation, and resolving synoptic-scale and mesoscale interactions. In order to better understand the cloudburst, we configured WRF with multiply nested two-way-interacting domains (18, 6, 2 km) centered on the location of interest, and simulated the event with the best configuration derived earlier. The results indicate that two mesoscale convective systems originating from Madhya Pradesh and Tibet interacted over Uttarkashi and, under orographic uplifting and in the presence of favorable moisture condition, resulted in this cloudburst event.

UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/672174

UR - https://angeo.copernicus.org/articles/33/671/2015/

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84930939006&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.5194/angeo-33-671-2015

DO - 10.5194/angeo-33-671-2015

M3 - Article

SN - 1432-0576

VL - 33

SP - 671

EP - 686

JO - Annales Geophysicae

JF - Annales Geophysicae

IS - 6

ER -

Observation- and numerical-analysis-based dynamics of the Uttarkashi cloudburst

Abstract

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