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A model of the orographic enhancement of snowfall by the seeder‐feeder mechanism
Author(s) -
Choularton T. W.,
Perry S. J.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
quarterly journal of the royal meteorological society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.744
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1477-870X
pISSN - 0035-9009
DOI - 10.1002/qj.49711247204
Subject(s) - seeder , orographic lift , snow , environmental science , precipitation , meteorology , orography , wind speed , atmospheric sciences , hydrology (agriculture) , seeding , geology , physics , engineering , aerospace engineering , geotechnical engineering
A model has been constructed of the orographic enhancement of snowfall by the seeder‐feeder mechanism. It is found that the collection of water from the feeder cloud is much more efficient than with rainfall under similar conditions, producing significantly larger enhancements of up to three times the seeder cloud precipitation rate. Over long hills growth is mostly by vapour diffusion, with riming dominating over shorter hills. It is found that the peak snowfall enhancement is strongly dependent on hill height, wind speed and feeder cloud depth over a long hill. These sensitivities are much weaker or are absent over short hills due to the large effects of wind drift.