PECAN

The PECAN (Plains Elevated Convection at Night) campaign was envisioned as a multi-agency project (NSF, NOAA, NASA, DOE) designed to advance the understanding of continental, nocturnal, warm-season precipitation. PECAN was focused on nocturnal convection in conditions over the Southern Great Plains with a stable boundary layer (SBL), a nocturnal low-level jet (NLLJ) and the largest CAPE (Convectively Available Potential Energy) located above the SBL. Thunderstorms are most common after sunset across this region in summer and much of the resulting precipitation falls from mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). Nocturnal MCSs may produce heavy rainfall; their intensity is correlated with the NLLJ. To date, an accurate prediction and an in-depth understanding of elevated convection in this environment remains an elusive goal.

PARTICIPATING FACILITIES:

King Air w/ WCL, NCAR S-PolKa, 3 DOWs, 3 NCAR ISS, 449 Profiler, Field Catalog and Data Management, Ops Center, potentially Mission Coordinator Display for participating aircraft.  Other facilities include NASA DC8, NOAA P3, SMART-Rs, RAXPOL, NOXP, FM-CW radar, MAX, Mobile mesonets, MIPS, Tethersondes, AERI, Water Vapor lidars, wind lidars, etc.