Convection initiation at the intersections of horizontal convective rolls and the sea-breeze front: A detailed kinematic analysis

The study of the causes for the preferred, and often periodic, locations of convection initiation has recently drawn a great deal o interest. Previous researchers have noted that convection generally develops at the inter-sections of boundary-layer convergence zones (e.g., Wilson and Schreiber 1986; Wilson et al. 1992) but these analyses have lacked either detailed data or well-defined intersections. Part I. utilized cloud photogrammetry and single-Doppler radar data obtained from the Convection and Precipitation/Electrificaion (CaPE) Experiment in Florida to show that the enhanced cumulus clouds primarily developed at the intersections of horizontal convective rolls and the sea-breeze front. The detailed dual-Doppler analyses, using NCAR's CP-3 and CP-4 radars, will be examined in this paper in order to explain the physical mechanisms influencing this periodic initiation and arrangement of convection.