Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-112
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-112
24 Jun 2024
 | 24 Jun 2024
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

A derecho climatology (2004–2021) in the United States based on machine learning identification of bow echoes

Jianfeng Li, Andrew Geiss, Zhe Feng, L. Ruby Leung, Yun Qian, and Wenjun Cui

Abstract. Due to their persistent widespread severe winds, derechos pose significant threats to human safety and property, and they are as hazardous and fatal as many tornadoes and hurricanes. Yet, automated detection of derechos remains challenging due to the absence of spatiotemporally continuous observations and the complex criteria employed to define the phenomenon. This study proposes a physically based definition of derechos that contains the key features of derechos described in the literature and allows their automated objective identification using either observations or model simulations. The automated detection is composed of three algorithms: the Flexible Object Tracker algorithm to track mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), a semantic segmentation convolutional neural network to identify bow echoes, and a comprehensive algorithm to classify MCSs as derechos or non-derecho events. Using the new approach, we develop a novel high-resolution (4 km and hourly) observational dataset of derechos over the United States east of the Rocky Mountains from 2004 to 2021. The dataset is analyzed to document the derecho climatology in the United States. Many more derechos (increased by ~50–400 %) are identified in the dataset (~31 events per year) than in previous estimations (~6–21 events per year), but the spatial distribution and seasonal variation patterns resemble earlier studies with a peak occurrence in the Great Plains and Midwest during the warm season. In addition, around 20 % of damaging gust (≥ 25.93 m s-1) reports are produced by derechos during the dataset period over the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10884046 (Li et al., 2024).

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Jianfeng Li, Andrew Geiss, Zhe Feng, L. Ruby Leung, Yun Qian, and Wenjun Cui

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2024-112', Anonymous Referee #1, 26 Aug 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2024-112', Anonymous Referee #2, 28 Aug 2024
  • RC3: 'Comment on essd-2024-112', Anonymous Referee #3, 25 Sep 2024
Jianfeng Li, Andrew Geiss, Zhe Feng, L. Ruby Leung, Yun Qian, and Wenjun Cui

Data sets

A derecho climatology over the United States from 2004 to 2021 Jianfeng Li et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10884046

Bow echo detection and segmentation Andrew Geiss et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10822721

Video supplement

bow echo segmentation scheme Andrew Geiss https://youtu.be/iHWY_OhaVUo

Jianfeng Li, Andrew Geiss, Zhe Feng, L. Ruby Leung, Yun Qian, and Wenjun Cui

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Short summary
We develop a high-resolution (4 km and hourly) observational derecho dataset over the United States east of the Rocky Mountains from 2004 to 2021 by using a mesoscale convective system dataset, bow echo detection based on a machine learning method, hourly gust speed measurements, and physically based identification criteria.
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