Date of Award

1-1-2011

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (xxii, 237 pages) : illustrations (some color), color map.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Lance Bosart

Committee Members

Daniel Keyser, Ryan Torn, Morris Weisman, Neil Laird

Keywords

Synoptic meteorology, Synoptic climatology

Subject Categories

Atmospheric Sciences

Abstract

This thesis investigates mature mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) that traversed Lake Michigan to elucidate synoptic-scale and Lake Michigan-related features that discriminate between persistence and dissipation. Of the 110 coherent MCSs that crossed Lake Michigan during the warm seasons (April–September) of 2002–2007, 47 (43%) persisted, while 63 (57%) dissipated. Persistence was favored during July and August, when Lake Michigan was warmer and during the evening and overnight, when the low-level jet (LLJ) was most intense. However, a number of MCSs also persisted during the early warm season when the Lake Michigan water temperature was cooler than the surrounding land.

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