A 3-D MODEL SYSTEM FOR SIMULATING THUNDERSTORM MICROBURST OUTFLOWS

A new three-dimensional numerical model system has been designed to study the complex near-surface flow features that arise from collisions between microburst outflow events and other sub-cloud phenomena with complex geometry. The model was designed specifically for implementation on massively parallel computers, and makes use of the high computation rates and large memory sizes of these machines to achieve spatial resolutions of 50 m or less in each dimension. Here we will report on one of the first model applications, a parameter study of colliding microburst outflows. Results from this study indicate that the collision zone between the two downdrafts can be a region of violent and complicated dynamics which can often lead to an elevated region of significant aircraft hazard.