| Popis: |
With the increased availability of soil moisture measurements in recent years, literature linking soil moisture to convection has begun to appear. These studies primarily link soil moisture to ordinary convection or rainfall. This study focuses specifically on the relationship between the soil moisture and the location of convective initiation (CI) of supercellular storms. The relationship is established using two separate methods: 1) Soil moisture anomalies are compared with supercell CI success and failure through use of chi-square analyses, and 2) soil moisture anomalies are linked to atmospheric moisture (specifically relative humidity and dewpoint) by use of the Student’s t-test. The former method suggests that low soil moisture is more favorable for CI, though this relationship is only significant after diurnal heating has occurred. The latter suggests a positive relationship between relative humidity and soil moisture. It is hypothesized that the lower soil and relative humidity values make supercells more likely by raising the lifted condensation level and slowing the rate at which convective inhibition is removed. |
