Effect of complex orography on numerical simulations of a downburst event in Spain

A downburst is a localized and intense downdraft of air that descends quickly from the middle troposphere and reaches the Earth's surface. It is frequently originated by a thunderstorm or a supercell. Downburst winds can cause significant damage to buildings, infrastructure, and pose a great threat to aviation traffic. On July 1, 2018, many supercells were spotted near the Zaragoza Airport (Spain), and at least one of them generated a downburst that affected the airport, causing significant damage in the surrounding area. This event is here simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-ARW) numerical weather prediction model. Three different WRF-ARW orography experiments are carried out to investigate if the region's complex orography has an important role in supercell and downburst development over the research area. One of the three experiments uses the default orography as control; another one uses a 90 % smoothed orography, and the third experiment is configured with a high-resolution dataset. Several atmospheric and convective variables are compared for each orography experiment. Results show that MUCAPE is clearly higher when the orography complexity is reduced. The smoothing process leads to a more uniform wind flow, contributing to the formation of numerous supercells. However, supercells channel through valleys and mountains in the control and high-resolution orography experiments, where the surface wind divergences are uniquely reproduced, and the highest reflectivity values are observed. Moisture advection from the Mediterranean Sea is essential in the process, reaching more deeply into the study region in the smoothed orography experiment due to the lack of orographic barriers. Orography affects dynamic and thermodynamic features, which have considerable effects on the formation and development of downbursts. • The role of complex orography was evaluated in a downburst event at Zaragoza Airport on July 1, 2018. • Reduced orographic complexity increases MUCAPE and uniform wind flow, promoting supercell formation. • Moisture from the Mediterranean deeply penetrates the region in smoothed orography, affecting downburst formation by reducing orographic barriers.