Origin of the waves in ‘A case-study of mesoscale spectra of wind and temperature, observed and simulated’: Lee waves from the Norwegian mountains

This note uses SAR images, satellite cloud pictures and point measurements together with simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to identify the origin of the gravity waves over Denmark on 6 November 2006, studied recently. The wave characteristics, concerning their initiation and ending, propagation, spatial orientation and wavelength, are consistent among the different data sources.

This evidence and the key wave parameters derived from the WRF simulation, including the Scorer parameter and wave tilt, all suggest that the waves are lee waves generated by uplift from the Norwegian mountains. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society