The movement of precipitation belts as observed by radar

✍ Scribed by W. G. Harper; J. G. D. Beimers

• Book ID: 104572114
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1958
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 445 KB
• Volume: 84
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0035-9009
• DOI: 10.1002/qj.49708436105

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The movement of 51 belts of precipitation of cold‐front type over south‐east England has been measured from radar records and compared with upper winds at each 50‐mb level from 950 to 500 mb. The mean speed of the belts is found to be in close agreement with the mean wind component across the belts at the 700‐mb level, with a correlation in excess of 0·9. Even at 650 and 750 mb the correlation is significantly lower, while at 950 mb it is only 0·6. The same pattern of correlations and of wind components was found in 31 belts associated with occlusion situations, and no significant variation in correlation level was found despite subdivision of the material on the basis of the height ranges of the observed echoes.

A simple forecasting rule is suggested, that ‘belts of precipitation of cold‐front type move with a speed equal to the component of the 700‐mb wind across them’.