The use of cumulonimbus anvil growth data for inferences about the circulation in thunderstorms and severe local storms

Abstract

The cumulonimbus anvil, studied by means of geosynchronous satellite, is used to reveal the circulation characteristics of local storms. Data is given for volume flux and divergence at the top of the storm, and these are compared with previous results by other investigators. Agreement is good, suggesting that satellite study of local storms is both useful and reliable. In regard to thunderstorm anvil outflow, a simple model of a point source in a uniform stream is shown to be a good approximation to observed anvil growth. Some evidence suggesting the interaction of proximate local storms with one another and with the environmental wind shear is presented.