DOI: 10.26208/qawk-c636
title: Daily Maximum WSR-88D Estimated Convective Boundary Layer Depths - 2014 and 2022

description: The convective boundary layer (CBL) is a layer of air ranging in depth from a few hundred meters to several kilometers that interacts with the Earth's surface on timescales of an hour or less during the daytime hours. This layer is one of the most variable, but also one of the most important, in the atmosphere, as it plays a strong role in air quality and the likelihood that precipitation can develop. A recent method to estimate the depth of the CBL above ground level from the National Weather Service 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) dual-polarization radars has been applied to two years of radar observations from 48 radars across the United States for 2014 and 2022. The method uses differential reflectivity observations to track the top of the CBL and provides CBL depth estimates on most days with observations available every 10 min or less.

Convective boundary layer (CBL) depths are determined from the quasi-vertical profile of both the azimuthal mean differential reflectivity (ZDR) observation from the 4 º or 4.5 º degree elevation and the variable DVar calculated at the same elevation angle. DVar multiplies the azimuthal mean ZDR observation with its azimuthal variance. See Comer et al. (2024) and Stouffer et al. (2024) for details. 

For the data set here, if the radar locations are east of 100º W longitude, then the values of CBL depth calculated from Comer et al. (2024) method are used. If the radar locations are west of 100º W longitude, then the CBL depths from the Comer et al (2024) method and from DVar alone are compared and the largest value of maximum CBL depth is used. For the 1800 and 2100 UTC observations of CBL depth, only the Comer et al. (2024) method is used to calculate CBL depth.

The data are separated for each day of the year, starting on 1 January and extending through 31 December. The first line in the data file identifies the date and the number of observations for that day: 
year, month, day, ncount
where year is YYYY and month, day, and ncount are MM, DD, and NN. 

The next ncount lines list the CBL depth observations for each of the 48 WSR-88D radars with CBL depth observations that passed quality control. About 2/3 of the quasi-vertical profiles passed the QC checks of Comer et al. (2024), and these vary from day to day, so the values of ncount also vary from day to day.

These data are ordered as:

Radar_ID, CBL_max, CBL_1800, CBL_2100, latitude, longitude

with RADAR_ID a 4-letter radar abbreviation used by the National Weather Service (see below), CBL_max the maximum CBL depth observed on the day (m AGL), CBL_1800 the CBL depth observed at 1800 UTC on the day, CBL_2100 the CBL depth at 2100 UTC on the day, and where latitude and longitude define the radar location. Decimals for latitude and longitude are fractions of a degree. 

The WSR-88D radars used in the data set and their latitude and longitude values are:

KABX, 35.140,-106.824
KAMA, 35.230,-101.709
KATX, 48.190,-122.496
KBBX, 39.490,-121.632
KBIS, 46.770,-100.761
KBOX, 41.950, -71.137
KBRO, 25.910, -97.419
KBYX, 24.590, -81.703
KCBW, 46.030, -67.806
KCCX, 40.920, -78.004
KDIX, 39.940, -74.411
KDMX, 41.730, -93.723
KEMX, 31.890,-110.630
KFTG, 39.780,-104.546
KGGW, 48.200,-106.625
KGRK, 30.720, -97.383
KGRR, 42.890, -85.545
KGSP, 34.880, -82.220
KICX, 37.590,-112.862
KIND, 39.700, -86.280
KJAX, 30.480, -81.702
KJGX, 32.670, -83.351
KLCH, 30.120, -93.216
KLNX, 41.950,-100.576
KLRX, 40.730,-116.803
KLSX, 38.690, -90.683
KLZK, 34.830, -92.262
KMAF, 31.940,-102.189
KMAX, 42.080,-122.717
KMHX, 34.770, -76.876
KMOB, 30.670, -88.240
KMPX, 44.840, -93.566
KMQT, 46.530, -87.548
KMSX, 47.040,-113.986
KMTX, 41.260,-112.448
KMUX, 37.150,-121.898
KOHX, 36.240, -86.562
KPDT, 45.690,-118.853
KRIW, 43.060,-108.477
KRLX, 38.310, -81.723
KSGF, 37.230, -93.400
KSOX, 33.810,-117.636
KTBW, 27.700, -82.402
KTLX, 35.330, -97.278
KTWX, 38.990, -96.233
KTYX, 43.750, -75.680
KYUX, 32.490,-114.657
KUDX, 44.120,-102.830