Bowing Convective Systems in a Popular Operational Model: Are They for Real?

Abstract Bowing, propagating precipitation features that sometimes appear in NCEP's North American Mesoscale model (NAM; formerly called the Eta Model) forecasts are examined. These features are shown to be associated with an unusual convective heating profile generated by the Betts–Miller–Janjic convective parameterization in certain environments. A key component of this profile is a deep layer of cooling in the lower to middle troposphere. This strong cooling tendency induces circulations that favor expansion of parameterized convective activity into nearby grid columns, which can lead to growing, self-perpetuating mesoscale systems under certain conditions. The propagation characteristics of these systems are examined and three contributing mechanisms of propagation are identified. These include a mesoscale downdraft induced by the deep lower-to-middle tropospheric cooling, a convectively induced buoyancy bore, and a boundary layer cold pool that is indirectly produced by the convective scheme in this ...

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