Warm Upper-Level Downdrafts Associated with a Squall Line

Abstract

Thermodynamic retrieval analysis applied to a composite of dual-Doppler radar data obtained in the 10–11 June 1985 PRE-STORM (Preliminary Regional Experiment for STORM-Central) squall line and a model simulation of a similar squall line show that the upper-level downdrafts located ahead of and behind the main convective updraft zone were generally positively buoyant. As a result, the upper-level downdrafts contributed negatively to the system heat flux.