Small-Scale Wind Fluctuations within Melting Layers of Winter Storms: Results from WINTRE-MIX

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Abstract Investigations into the melting layer (ML) of winter storms have revealed small-scale fluctuations in the horizontal wind that could significantly affect the surface precipitation type (p-type) and the evolution of the ML. Despite previous evidence of such fluctuations, essential questions remain concerning their characteristics and the forces driving them. Therefore, this study characterizes small-scale horizontal wind fluctuations (<1 km in length with perturbation magnitudes < 3 m s−1) and their environments within the ML of winter storms. This analysis uses data from a scanning X-band Doppler radar collected during the Winter Precipitation Type Research Multiscale Experiment (WINTRE-MIX), conducted during February and March 2022. We present three case studies where small-scale horizontal wind fluctuations are identified using along-radial and along-azimuthal radial velocity perturbations. These cases cover the range of environmental conditions observed during WINTRE-MIX, including (i) a descending ML with change in surface p-type from snow to rain, (ii) a steady ML with a surface p-type transition from freezing rain to rain due to surface cold air erosion, and (iii) a steady ML with a surface p-type transition from freezing rain to ice pellets due to surface cold air advection. Forcing mechanisms for small-scale wind fluctuations during each case are attributed to static instability, vertically trapped gravity waves, and/or shear instability inferred from rawinsonde data, HRRR analysis, and radar data. Our findings suggest that static instability, gravity waves, and shear instability drive the ML’s small-scale wind fluctuations and may influence surface precipitation-type transitions. Significance Statement This research aims to enhance our understanding of horizontal motions (<1 km in length) within melting layers (MLs) of winter storms and their underlying causes. This study uses radar data to detect differences in horizontal motion within the ML of three different winter storms. Weather balloon observations and output from computer weather forecasts are then used to distinguish between horizontal motions generated by convection, vertically trapped gravity waves, or shear. Our findings reveal that horizontal motions within the ML are generated by different forcing mechanisms within different storms and that horizontal motions may influence the surface p-type.

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