Abstract:
Oklahoma Mesonet and OASIS instrumentation aided in the calculation of sensible heat fluxes that played a role in convective initiation in Oklahoma on 26 May 2000. Past research has indicated that landscape characteristics can cause differential sensible heat fluxes, which can induce mesoscale circulations and enhance surface convergence. Crawford (1998) used a model to calculate sensible heat fluxes and observed that gradients of sensible heat fluxes caused the development of the inland sea breeze, which then enhanced surface convergence. The results of this project extended Crawford's work and illustrated and discussed the effects of the inland sea breeze on the surface wind field and convergence in southwestern and northeastern Oklahoma on 26 May 2000.
Paper available upon request.