Turbulence and Wind Shear in Layers of Large Doppler Spectrum Width in Stratiform Precipitation

Weather radar observations of stratiform precipitation often reveal regions having very large measured Doppler spectrum widths, exceeding 7, and sometimes 10, m s−1. These widths are larger than those typically found in thunderstorms; widths larger than 4 m s−1 are associated with moderate or severe turbulence in thunderstorms. In this work, stratiform precipitation has been found to have layers of widths larger than 4 m s−1 in more than 80% of cases studied, wherein the shear of the wind on scales that are large compared to the dimensions of the radar resolution volume is the dominant contributor to spectrum width. Analyzed data show that if width ≤7 m s−1, and if the layers are not wavy or patchy, these layers have weak turbulence. On the other hand, regions having widths >4 m s−1 in patches or in wavelike structures are likely to have moderate to severe turbulence with the potential to be a hazard to safe flight. To separate the contributions to spectrum width from wind shear and turbulence an...