Intraregional variability in tropospheric environments during freezing rain events is investigated for the South Central United States. National Weather Service (NWS) Automated Surface Observing Stations (ASOS) are used to detect the occurrence of freezing rain, and rawinsonde observations (RAOB) employed to analyze lower tropospheric vertical profiles of temperature, dew point temperature, wind, and layer thicknesses during these periods. The study area consists of seven 100 mile radius RAOB proximity sub-regions centered around Peachtree City Georgia, Nashville Tennessee, Birmingham Alabama, Jackson Mississippi, Shreveport Louisiana, Little Rock Arkansas, and Springfield Missouri. A series of difference of means tests are performed to determine if statistically significant differences exist in mean values of selected tropospheric variables during periods of freezing rain between adjacent RAOB sites to determine the character of intraregional variability within the South Central United States. Results of these tests suggest 5 sub-regions exist in which freezing rain events can be forecast based upon thresholds and ranges of lower tropospheric environmental variables. As a final step, flow charts are developed for each of the 5 subregions to aid meteorologists in forecasting freezing rain within the Southeast United States. / Department of Geography
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/187826 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Hanni-Wells, Michael R. |
| Contributors | Arnold, David L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 73 leaves : maps ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-usu-- |
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