Mobile Observations of a Quasi-Frontal Transient Moisture Boundary in the Deep South

Abstract

Abstract A protocol for the collection and analysis of high-resolution (≤300 m) temperature and humidity data along a transect using an unmodified passenger vehicle is described. A case is investigated of a weak dissipating cold front that became disconnected from its upper-tropospheric support and interacted with a developing Gulf of Mexico return flow. The changing relationships between the thermal and moisture gradients are described through cross-section analyses of the mobile, surface synoptic, and radiosonde data, extending from Texas to Alabama. The mobile transect data facilitated description of subsynoptic-scale airmass transition zones in the vicinity of the frontal remnant, as well as other variations within air masses. Similarities and differences are noted relative to previous studies of cold fronts, drylines, and coastal fronts.