Comparison of convective environments in deep tropical and extratropical atmospheres with 1989-2002 radiosonde data

Abstract

A quantitative evaluation of convective environments in tropical and extratropical atmospheres was performed by using twice daily radiosonde data at three stations for a 14 year period from 1989 to 2002. The data was offered by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Wyoming at their websites. The three stations were Singapore Changi airport (SIN) at 1.36°N, 103.98°E, Little Rock of Arkansas US (LR) at 34.73°N, 92.23°W and Beijing China (BJ) at 39.93°N, 116.28°E. The elevations of three stations were 16m, 78m and 55m, respectively, which may warrant negligible topographic influence. The low-level wind shear was one of the most important parameters that affect convective storm development.