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WRF Simulations of the 20-22 January 2007 Snow Events over Eastern Canada: Comparison with In-Situ and Satellite ObservationsOne of the grand challenges of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is to improve cold season precipitation measurements in middle and high latitudes through the use of high-frequency passive microwave radiometry. For this, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the Goddard microphysics scheme is coupled with a satellite data simulation unit (WRF-SDSU) that has been developed to facilitate over-land snowfall retrieval algorithms by providing a virtual cloud library and microwave brightness temperature (Tb) measurements consistent with the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI). This study tested the Goddard cloud microphysics scheme in WRF for two snowstorm events, a lake effect and a synoptic event, that occurred between 20 and 22 January 2007 over the Canadian CloudSAT/CALIPSO Validation Project (C3VP) site in Ontario, Canada. The 24h-accumulated snowfall predicted by the WRF model with the Goddard microphysics was comparable to the observed accumulated snowfall by the ground-based radar for both events. The model correctly predicted the onset and ending of both snow events at the CARE site. WRF simulations capture the basic cloud properties as seen by the ground-based radar and satellite (i.e., CloudSAT, AMSU-B) observations as well as the observed cloud streak organization in the lake event. This latter result reveals that WRF was able to capture the cloud macro-structure reasonably well.
Document ID
20090032031
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Shi, J. J. (Maryland Univ. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Tao, W.-K. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Matsui, T. (Maryland Univ. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Cifelli, R. (Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Huo, A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Lang, S. (Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Lanham, MD, United States)
Tokay, A. (Maryland Univ. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Peters-Lidard, C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Jackson, G. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Rutledge, S. (Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Petersen, W. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2009
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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