P95 Effects of Model Configuration on a Simulated Chinook in the Lee of the Alaska Range

Knievel, Jason C., and J. A. Grim, National Center for Atmospheric Research, C. M. Witt-Schulte and D. P. Woznicz, U.S. Army Cold Regions Test Center, Fort Greely, AK

Chinooks and other regional down-slope winds can abruptly change conditions in the lee of mountains. Reliably simulating a chinook’s onset, duration, strength, and spatial extent remains a challenge for the WRF Model and for other NWP models. As a result, accurate predictions of chinooks often still depend on the experience and intuition of forecasters, and on diagnostic techniques that employ observations. This presentation will explore how the WRF Model’s simulation of a chinook in the lee of the Alaska Range is sensitive to run-time configuration and static data. The physical details of this specific Alaskan chinook will be described.