Research: Measurement and analysis of nocturnal mesoscale convective systems and their stable boundary layer environment during the Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) field experiment

Our research group was part of a large field experiment in June-July of 2015: "Plains Elevated Convection at Night" or PECAN. We collected mobile radiosonde observations, which were part of an integrated set of observations including aircraft, mobile and fixed radars, and a variety of profiling instruments. The focus of PECAN is on nocturnal convection in the Great Plains of the United States. This region receives much of its annual rainfall from nocturnal convection, yet the weather systems responsible for this precipitation are still not well understood.

Our group conducted a number of studies using PECAN data, including using high-frequency sounding observations to identify reasons for forecast errors; quantifying the environments ahead of and behind convective systems using the sounding observations; and incorporating PECAN observations into numerical models to understand key processes in nocturnal convective systems. This research was led by former students John Peters and Stacey Hitchcock.

Prof. Schumacher and the PECAN project were highlighted in the NSF video series "When Nature Strikes" on natural hazards.

Papers related to the PECAN experiment:

• Peters, J.M., E.R. Nielsen, M.D. Parker, S.M. Hitchcock, and R.S. Schumacher, 2017: The impact of low-level moisture errors on model forecasts of an MCS observed during PECAN. Monthly Weather Review, 145, 3599-3624.
• Schumacher, R.S., and J.M. Peters, 2017: Near-surface thermodynamic sensitivities in simulated extreme-rain-producing mesoscale convective systems. Monthly Weather Review, 145, 2177-2200.
• Hitchcock, S.M., R.S. Schumacher, G.R. Herman, M.C. Coniglio, M.D. Parker, and C.L. Ziegler, 2019: Evolution of pre- and post-convective environmental profiles from mesoscale convective systems during PECAN. Monthly Weather Review, 147, 2329-2354.
• Hitchcock, S.M., and R.S. Schumacher, 2020: Analysis of back-building convection in simulations with a strong low-level stable layer. Monthly Weather Review, 148, 3773-3797.
• Geerts. B., and Coauthors (including R.S. Schumacher), 2017: The 2015 Plains Elevated Convection At Night (PECAN) field project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 98, 767-786.