PNNL

Abstract

Deep convective storms play a key role in severe weather, the hydrological cycle and the global atmospheric circulation. Historically little attention has been paid to the intense convective storms in the high latitudes. These regions that have been experiencing the largest increases of mean surface temperature over the last century. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core satellite, which features a space-borne Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) providing near-global coverage (65°S to 65°N), has made it possible to establish the occurrence of convective storms at high latitudes. Analysis of the three-dimensional radar echoes seen by GPM over a 5-year period (2014-2018) shows that extremely intense deep convective storms do occur often during the warm season (April-September) in the high-latitude continents where the increase of surface temperature has been greatest. The associated thermodynamical environments suggest that high latitude extreme convection could be more common in a continually warming world.