Examining the explosion effect of hail suppression operation phased array radar observation data.

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric Science
• Meteorology
• Cloud Physics

Background:

• Hail suppression operations are employed to mitigate damage from severe hailstorms.
• Understanding the immediate effects of hail suppression on convective storm structure is crucial for evaluating efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the macro and micro changes in a convective storm monomer following an explosion-based hail suppression operation.
• To investigate the impact of the hail suppression operation on the storm's three-dimensional wind field and particle characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-spatiotemporal-resolution (12-s intervals) X-band dual-polarization phased array radar data.
• Performed inverse analysis of the three-dimensional wind field within the convective monomer.
• Analyzed changes in radar echo, updraft/downdraft characteristics, and particle types (hail, graupel) before and after the operation.

Main Results:

• Observed rapid decreases in echo height, intensity, and liquid water content within one minute post-operation.
• Detected a breakdown of the positive radial velocity column, reduced updraft, and increased downdraft.
• Noted a significant decrease in strong echo samples and hail particles, with a corresponding increase in weak echo samples and graupel particles.

Conclusions:

• The rapid cloud changes suggest the explosion directly influenced the storm's microphysics and dynamics, not aligning with slower catalytic theories.
• The explosion likely fragmented large particles and created a dynamic disturbance that inhibited updrafts, suppressing convective development.
• The study provides observational evidence supporting the effectiveness of explosion-based hail suppression techniques.