DOMEX

The DOMinica EXperiment: Orographic Precipitation in the Tropics took place in the eastern Caribbean in the spring of 2011 with 21 research flights of the University of Wyoming King Air (UWKA) aircraft. The goal was an improved understanding of the physics of convective orographic precipitation in the tropics. The UWKA measured upstream and downstream airflow properties as well as the convective clouds and precipitation over the island of Dominica. This flight data along with an idealized numerical model have been used to understand the role of the ambient upstream wind speed in controlling the transition from thermally to mechanically forced moist orographic convection. Additionally, a modified version of Woodcock's 1960 moist convective initiation theory will be evaluated using a unique set of upstream sub-cloud measurements from DOMEX.