Exploiting the full potential of Doppler lidars: High‐resolution wind‐gust profiling in significant weather

Abstract Doppler wind lidars (DWLs) operated in a quick scanning configuration have been shown to be able to capture gusts throughout the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) by profiling the wind vector with a temporal resolution of 3–4 s. This article shows (i) how such high‐resolution DWL observations may contribute to describing essential dynamic features of significant weather phenomena and (ii) how identified features vary on the sub‐mesoscale by using observations from the Field Experiment on Sub‐mesoscale Spatio‐Temporal Variability in Lindenberg (FESSTVaL) in summer 2021. During FESSTVaL, wind profiles of the ABL were observed over three months in a DWL triangle configuration—at three supersites 6 km apart from each other—at a Central European site, supported by profile measurements with microwave radiometers and ceilometers. With this setup, we show the spatial–temporal evolution of wind patterns with unprecedented resolution by investigating a cold front (CF) and a summertime cold pool (CP) event. The CF shows similar features at all locations, with gust onset near the surface and a subsequent zone of increasing wind speeds up to cloud base, spreading linearly with height in a wedge‐like structure. Prefrontal lifting is identified, which triggers rain slightly after the frontal passage. The observed CP is a sub‐mesoscale phenomenon with different wind‐profile characteristics depending on the distance to the CP center. The cold‐air outflow spreading radially is monitored and the wind‐shear structure detected can be used to derive the vertical extent in conjunction with observed temperature profiles. At the outer edge of the CP, new convection is triggered and the separation line between near‐ground cold air and uplifted warm air meanders like a gravity wave. These case studies demonstrate the potential of new synergistic observational approaches to provide both spatially and temporally high‐resolution observations of significant weather.