Development of a cumulonimbus cloud with its top above 18 km in central India is analyzed. The process is observed with a radar. A 1.5 D numerical model is used to simulate the cloud development. The cloud produced very low radar echo, which implies that large cloud particles were absent. Both observations and simulation show that an extremely intense growth of the cloud was associated with its merge with feeder cells. The seeding of feeder cells caused a change in the direction of the cloud movement.
Basing on airmass motion trajectory calculations over the Arabian Peninsula on April 10, 2008, it can be assumed that in the lower and middle troposphere, zones with increased air moisture exist due to air inflow from the Red Sea. As a result, mesoscale volumes of dry and moist air are neighboring, though large-scale field is comparatively homogeneous with low humidity. In the mesoscale zones, intense thunderstorm and hailstorm Cb clouds developed, whose characteristics and evolution are studied in the paper. Continuous radar observations of the clouds are carried out during 5 hours. Numerical simulation of the cloud evolution is performed with nonstationary 1.5-dimensional model. It is noted that under the mentioned atmospheric conditions, in the area under consideration, heavy rain and hail from the Cb clouds are observed. The main factors of their origination are high thermal instability of the atmosphere and moist air inflow from outside.
Changes are analyzed of a Cb cloud characteristics due to its merging with feeder clouds, on the data on a long-living Cb cloud in Saudi Arabia on July 4, 2008. Continuous radar and satellite observations of the cloud are carried out during 6 h. The Cb cloud development is also numerically simulated using a nonstationary 1½ model. It is found that the processes of Cb cloud merging with feeder clouds developing in its vicinities affect significantly the Cb cloud development. This impact demonstrates itself in longer duration of the Cb cloud life span, increasing top height, reflectivity, precipitation duration and intensity. Modification of the feeder clouds can accelerate their development, which eventually can affect notably the Cb cloud.
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