Identification and characterization of hail producing systems in the Córdoba region of Argentina: convective environments, weather warning processes, and social media reporting

Elkins, Calvin Monteil

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115822 Copy

Description

Title

Identification and characterization of hail producing systems in the Córdoba region of Argentina: convective environments, weather warning processes, and social media reporting

Author(s)

Elkins, Calvin Monteil

Issue Date

2022-04-21

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Hence, Deanna A

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Hence, Deanna A

Committee Member(s)

• Lasher-Trapp, Sonia
• Nesbitt, Stephen
• Trapp, Robert

Department of Study

Atmospheric Sciences

Discipline

Atmospheric Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• hail
• social media
• warnings
• communication
• convective systems
• Argentina
• radar

Abstract

As one of the most active areas on Earth for hail activity, the Córdoba province of Argentina is an ideal location to examine multiple issues surrounding the forecasting and monitoring of hail-producing systems. For this research, hail observations from trained observers and social media reports were paired with analysis of operational radar for three main purposes: 1) to identify the convective and initiation modes most prevalent for hail formation and their governing synoptic and mesoscale setups, 2) to test the spatiotemporal accuracy of weather alerts (WWAs) issued in response to the investigated storms, and 3) to use the storm data to measure the effectiveness of Twitter data as a proxy for hail event verification. Results showed that early-season cells were mostly discrete convection, with multi-cell occurrence more common in the late-season. Scattered cell initiation and initiation adjacent to existing cells were the most common. Dividing convective events into representative synoptic regimes based on values of 1000 J kg-1 of CAPE and vertical wind shear (VWS) of 20 m s-1 resulted in four distinct environments related directly to the strength and placement of low-level temperature and moisture advection fields and the upper-level jet. For WWAs, both alertas and avisos were sensitive to CAPE and VWS as high-CAPE and high-VWS environments tended to have better coverage. Finally, Twitter data proved useful for verification, though issues were seen with timing and population bias.

Graduation Semester

2022-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Calvin Elkins

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