Convective Storm Initiation Project
Project Summary
The goal of the Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP) is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the initiation of precipitating convection in southern England . The flooding event at Boscastle in August 2004 highlights the damage that can be caused by heavy convective precipitation in the UK . The very-high-resolution mesoscale model under continuing development in the Met Office has had some success in predicting the location and intensity of thunderstorms a few hours ahead, although this remains a difficult challenge. One of the largest uncertainties is in modelling the initiation of the convection. The Convective Storm Initiation Project (CSIP), a joint project between UK universities, the Met Office and the Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe is designed with this problem in mind: to understand where and how convective clouds form and develop into showers. The instruments deployed to make these observations are shown below. A major aim of CSIP is to compare the results of the Met Office model with detailed observations of the early stages of convective clouds and to use newly gained understanding to improve the predictions of the model.
CSIP Publications to date
Marsham, J. H., Morcrette, C. J., Browning, K. A., Blyth, A. M., Parker, D. J., Corsmeier, U., Kalthoff, N. and Kohler, M. (2007) “Variable cirrus shading during CSIP IOP 5. I: Effects on the initiation of convection” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 133, 1643–1660
Marsham, J. H., Blyth, A. M., Parker, D. J., Beswick, K., Browning, K. A., Corsmeier, U., Kalthoff, N., Khodayar, S., Morcrette, C. J. and Norton, E.G. (2007) “Variable cirrus shading during CSIP IOP 5. II: Effects on the convective boundary layer” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 133, 1661–1675
Morcrette, C. J., Lean, H., Browning, K. A., Roberts, N., Clark, P. A., Nicol, J., Russell, A. and Blyth, A. M. “Combination of mesoscale and synoptic mechanisms for triggering of an isolated thunderstorm: a case study of CSIP IOP 1”, Monthly Weather Review, 135, 3728–3749.
Browning, K. A. et al. (2006) “A Summary of the Convective Storm Initiation Project Intensive Observation Periods” Forecasting Research Technical Report No. 474, Joint Centre for Mesoscale Meteorology Report No. 153, 164 pages
Bennett, L. J., Browning, K. A., Blyth, A. M., Parker, D. J. and Clark, P. A. (2006) “A review of the initiation of precipitating convection in the United Kingdom” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 132, 1001–1020
Morcrette, C. J., Browning, K. A., Blyth, A. M., Bozier, K. E., Clark, P. A., Ladd, D., Norton, E. G. and Pavelin, E. (2006) “Secondary initiation of multiple bands of cumulonimbus over southern Britain. I: An observational case-study” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 132, 1021–1051
Marsham, J. H. and Parker, D. J. (2006) “Secondary initiation of multiple bands of cumulonimbus over southern Britain. II: Dynamics of secondary initiation” Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 132, 1053–1072
Marsham, J. H. (2006) “Meeting Report : Mid-latitude convective storms and their initiation” Weather, 61, 175–177