Collaborative Research: Large Hail Accumulations in Thunderstorms

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Thunderstorms that produce deep hail accumulations pose a substantial risk to life and property resulting in motor vehicle accidents, road closures, airport delays, urban and river flooding, and water rescues. Data inhomogeneities and inadequacies in monitoring hail characteristics in thunderstorms leads to low confident in projecting future hail occurrence and evaluation of future climate predictions. The overarching goal of the research is to analyze the microphysical and dynamical conditions necessary for large amounts of in-cloud hail production that lead to deep surface hail accumulations by developing and validating a robust set of characteristic storm properties unique to significant hail accumulation; determining the role of mechanisms enhancing hail production; and determining temporal and spatial variation of hail accumulations in observations and simulations. Intellectual Merit:The intellectual merit lies in its contribution to a comprehensive understanding of the dual-polarization and lighting characteristics in severe thunderstorms with significant hail accumulations; how and why they are linked to environmental conditions, storm morphology, terrain, and outflow boundaries; and if state-of-the-art regional climate and weather forecasting models are capable of reproducing hail accumulation characteristics derived from observations. The research will advance our understanding of processes contributing to large hail/graupel production in thunderstorms, improve the forecasting of extreme events that cause natural disasters, and extend current capabilities to directly benefit society. Broader Impacts:The broader impacts are that the studies will aid in better forecasting and nowcasting events with significant hail accumulation and provide basis for evaluating forecasting and regional climate simulations. Hailstorms have had large economical impacts through damage to property and agriculture with livestock fatalities and human injuries. This study will provide better insight if hail accumulation also provides useful information to issue reliable warnings to the public and assistance in severe weather management. Undergraduates and graduate students will participate in the scientific research through independent studies, internships, and a Ph.D. thesis. The project will promote the collaborations between the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research's Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science program and the University of Colorado's Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training program, which are intended for underrepresented undergraduate students in science, math, and engineering.