The supercell thunderstorm on 8 June 1990: Mesoscale analysis and radar observations

Summary A case study of supercell thunderstorm development over Po Valley in northern Italy is discussed. The data were collected during MATREP, a field project operated in the month of June 1990. During the late morning hours of 8 June, before the passage of a cold front, a supercell and a single cell developed at the same time in eastern part of Po Valley, about 60 km apart from each other.Surface mesoscale analysis helps to explain these different storm evolutions due to interaction among local circulations, Adriatic Sea and orography. While dry wind (foehn) dumps the thermodynamic instability in single-cell environment, a moisture circulation affects the origin area of supercell. Computation of corresponding instability indices again supports the peculiar evolution of the two storms which is also analyzed by means of radar data.With 20 Figures