Retrieving Horizontal Temperature Gradients and Advections from Single-Station Wind Profiler Observations

Vertical wind shears measured by the Plattevilie, Colorado wind profiler were used in conjunction with the geostrophic thermal wind equation to retrieve the horizontal thermal gradients and associated advections for a case involving an upper-tropospheric jet stream/frontal zone on 23–24 November 1986. The profiler-retrieved thermal gradients and advections and their evolutions compared favorably with those observed by the operational rawinsonde network. The retrieval of horizontal temperature gradients by a single wind profiler is generally effective in quasi-balanced flow regimes, but becomes less reliable in flow regimes dominated by nonbalanced gravity wave activity. In quasi-balanced flow regimes this simple thermal retrieval technique can aid the operational community by monitoring baroclinic features and associated temperature advections on an hourly basis, rather than on a 12-hourly basis currently available through the operational rawinsonde network.