The Development of Atmospheric Bores in Non‐Uniform Baroclinic Environments and Their Roles in the Maintenance, Structure, and Evolution of an MCS

Abstract

AbstractThis study used radar observations and a high‐resolution numerical simulation to explore the interactions between an mesoscale convective system (MCS), cold pool outflows, and atmospheric bores in a non‐uniform baroclinic environment. The bores were generated by a nocturnal MCS that occurred on 2–3 June 2017 over the southern North China Plain. The goal of this investigation is to determine how the structure of bores varied within this non‐uniform environment and whether and how the bores would maintain the MCS and alter its structure. To the southwest of the MCS, where there was large CAPE and a well‐mixed boundary layer, discrete convection initiation occurred behind a single radar fine line (RFL) maintaining the propagation of the MCS. To the southeast of the MCS, multiple RFLs were found suggesting the generation of an undular bore in an environment containing an intense nocturnal stable boundary layer with dry upper layers and little CAPE. Hydraulic and nonlinear theory were applied to the simulation of the MCS revealing that the differences in the bore evolution depended on both the characteristics of the cold pool and the variations in the ambient environment. Thus, the characteristics of the ambient environment and the associated differences in bore structure impacted the maintenance and organization of the MCS. This study implies the importance of an accurate representation of the low‐level ambient environment and the microphysics and kinematics within the MCS to accurately simulate and forecast cold pools, the generation and evolution of bores, and their impact on nocturnal MCSs.