Aircraft Measurements of the Microphysical Properties of Stratiform Clouds with Embedded Convection

The presence of embedded convection in stratiform clouds strongly affects ice microphysical properties and precipitation formation. In situ aircraft measurements, including upward and downward spirals and horizontal penetrations, were performed within both embedded convective cells and stratiform regions of a mixed-phase stratiform cloud system on 22 May 2017. Supercooled liquid water measurements, particle size distributions, and particle habits in different cloud regions were discussed with the intent of characterizing the riming process and determining how particle size distributions vary from convective to stratiform regions. Significant amounts of supercooled liquid water, with maxima up to 0.6 g m −3 , were observed between −3°C and −6°C in the embedded convective cells while the peak liquid water content was generally less than 0.1 g m −3 in the stratiform regions. There are two distinct differences in particle size distributions between convective and stratiform regions. One difference is the significant shift toward larger particles from upper −15°C to lower −10°C in the convective region, with the maximum particle dimensions increasing from less than 6000 µm to over 1 cm. The particles larger than 1 cm at −10°C are composed of dendrites and their aggregates. The other difference is the large concentrations of small particles (25–205 µm) at temperatures between −3°C and −5°C in the convective region, where rimed ice particles and needles coexist. Needle regions are observed from three of the five spirals, but only the cloud conditions within the convective region fit into the Hallett-Mossop criteria.