New paper: thunderstorm dynamics in k-scale models

Deep convective thunderstorms, which may cause severe weather, tend to coherently organise into structured cloud systems. Accurate representation of these systems in forecast models is difficult due to their complex dynamics. This is especially the case in traditional weather and climate models, where the pixelation of the model makes it hard to represent storm processes. In this study, Edward Groot demonstrates the potential for ultra high-resolution (km-scale) climate models to accurately represent convective processes. Edward investigates the effect of convective organisation and geometry on the outflow winds at the top of the storm. This is important, as it determines how the storm interacts with and impacts the wider atmospheric dynamics. Edward finds that the representation of thunderstorm dynamics and outflows improves at higher resolution. This demonstrates the potential for km-scale climate models to represent heavy rain events and thunderstorm dynamics. For more information, please see Edward's paper: Divergent convective outflow in ICON deep-convection-permitting and parameterised deep convection simulations.