An observational analysis of a developing mesoscale convective complex

Abstract

The flow structure in this system was highly complex compared to the two-dimensional squall-line conceptual model. Five separate flow branches coexisted and interacted with one another throughout the observed development of the MCCF, and the structure of some of them changed considerably as the system evolved. Notably, the rear inflow evolved from a highly variable western flow that ascended in its northern half and descended in the south, to a more uniformly descending rear-inflow jet. This transition was dynamically linked to the development of an upper-tropospheric mesohigh, which we hypothesize blocked the upper-tropospheric flow and partially forced the descent of the rear inflow. -from Authors