REAL-DATA NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE BOUNDARY-LAYER STRUCTURE ASSOCIATED WITH COASTAL FRONTOGENESIS AND COLD-AIR DAMMING.

A modified version of the Penn State mesoscale model is used to investigate the boundary layer structure associated with cold-air damming and coastal frontogenesis during an Appalachian freezing-rain event of 13-14 January 1980. In this paper, the authors will first discuss what features a model should possess in order to correctly simulate cold-air damming and the coastal front. Following a review of the basic characteristics of these two phenomena, there will be a general description of the model including what improvements have been made to better simulate the evolution of the PBL. The following section provides a brief overview of the case study; and, finally, the authors report preliminary model results, future modeling goals, and our conclusions.