Cross-section question and y-levels, w_vel_contour

General
1

Hi, I am plotting radar data with HRRR to initialize the winds in a supercell thunderstorm.

How does one determine the level of y in pydda.vis.plot_xz_xsection_barbs to correctly slice the storm?

I did some guessing with trial and error and got y=150 for a x-z cross-section through this storm shown below.

What are the units of w_vel_contours? It seems if it is 1-2 m/s that they should be alot higher in the updraft zones, especially in the echo-free zone of the BWER where hail is suspended aloft. This storm produced baseball to grapefruit sized hail which would suggest w ~ 30-50 m/s.

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Thank you.

2

Hello! The units of the contours are in m/s. And the only way to get the cross section with the maximum updraft would be to find the y-level that has the maximum updraft speed that you wish to look at.

If you’re expecting 30-50 m/s updrafts aloft and only getting 1-3 m/s, it’s possible that there is too much smoothing in your retrieval or you are constraining against the model too strongly.