TITLE:
Local Impacts and Surface Characteristics of Cold Pools Wind Gust Observed from Thunderstorm
AUTHORS:
Richard Ayodeji Balogun, Vincent Olanrewaju Ajayi, Ifeoluwa Adebowale Balogun
KEYWORDS:
Impacts, Cold Pools, Windstorms, Thunderstorms, Rainfall, Disasters
JOURNAL NAME:
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences,
Vol.12 No.4,
October
31,
2022
ABSTRACT: Cold pools and associated wind
storms are frequent occurrences in
Southwestern Nigeria, especially during the early monsoon phase. The associated
surface wind gust frequently destroys properties resulting in economic losses.
Two case events were investigated in
this study; one event occurred in May 2019 and the other occurred in March 2020, both in
southwestern Nigeria. The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Center for
Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Infrared
brightness temperatures and CPC Morphing technique (CMORPH) rainfall products were analysed alongside in-situ observations from the Nigerian Meteorological
Agency (NiMET). Other data sources analysed are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) and
the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). Cold pools were
identified in the impacted communities as indicated by surface characteristics
investigated from the in-situ observations. There was a sudden change in wind direction, with a simultaneous drop in temperature accompanied by increasing wind speed. Pressure and humidity were
observed to change in the same period. Thunderstorms were also present in the
impacted communities, as observed by the in-situ observations, in both case events.
The presence of lightning as
observed by WWLLN agrees with the in-situ thunderstorms. The cloud
characteristics showed the presence of cloud shields, by their brightness temperature, over the impacted communities during the
period of the cold pools in both case events. The systems were raining at the time of the observations in both cases, consistent with
the in-situ thunderstorm observations. The communities were heavily impacted with several properties destroyed in the events. These early monsoon seasonal windstorms
require a forecasting tool for their prediction and this study presents an
eye-opener for further investigation and innovative research to address the
menace.