Characterization of Initiation and Growth of Selected Severe Convective Storms over Central Europe with MSG-SEVIRI

The early development of severe convective storms over central Europe was investigated on the basis of nine cases from 2012. Using data from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) imaging radiometer aboard a geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite, dynamical and microphysical properties of developing storms were monitored and combined. Several satellite-based storm properties, for example, cloud-top temperature, cloud-top cooling rate, and cloud particle effective radius, were investigated following the storm tracks. A framework for quantification of uncertainties of along-track properties resulting from tracking errors was also introduced. The majority of studied storms show a distinct maximum in cloud-top cooling rate; the corresponding time was used for track synchronization. The cloud growth phase was divided into an initial updraft intensification period before the maximum cooling and a continued growth period afterward. The initial updraft intensification period is variable and strongly depends on the convection initiation mechanism and detection conditions. The continued growth period is more confined, lasting between 30 and 45 min. The change in anvil size and the resulting average anvil edge velocity were determined from infrared satellite images. As a consequence of mass transport, the anvil edge velocity shows its highest correlation with the cloud-top vertical velocity approximately 20-30 min after the maximum in the cloud-top cooling rate. Larger effective radii of ice crystals were observed for vertically slower-growing clouds. The largest anticorrelation between cloud-top vertical velocity and effective radius was found at a time lag of 20 min after the maximum in cloud-top cooling.