Investigating the relationship between aerosol properties and severe weather parameters

Abstract

Severe Weather is a common, yet dangerous aspect of weather and climate in the central Great Plains region of the United States. Finding ways to improve the quality of forecasting this phenomenon is important for improving public safety and prepare for its economic impacts. Given that aerosols can have many microphysical impacts on clouds and precipitation and can also impact radiation in the atmosphere, there is potential for aerosols to affect severe weather events in this region. This study involved pairing measurements of certain commonly used severe weather parameters across various sites in this region with measurements of aerosol optical depth in the same locations. The goal was to determine whether there were any significant associations between aerosol optical depth and the severe weather parameters, and how these associations may have differed by season. It was also to determine whether retrievals of aerosol optical depth could be a useful tool for severe weather forecasting in this region. Aerosol optical depth was found to have an association with each of the severe weather parameters tested. However, these associations did not show up when only looking at data during the warm season. Furthermore, although, there were associations when looking at cool-season data, some of them differed from the ones found in data from all year round. This experiment on its own would appear to be inconclusive in determining whether aerosol optical depth could be a useful forecasting tool for severe weather in the Great Plains region of the United States. However, it could pave the way for additional studies for other parts of the country or more specific aerosol measurements.