Low Level Wind Shear at Patrick Space Force Base during the Summers of 2023-2024
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Authors
Horak, Rachel
Date
2025-05
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES::Earth sciences::Atmosphere and hydrosphere sciences::Meteorology
Alternative Title
Abstract
One hazard to pilots is low level wind shear. Low level wind shear is a change in
winds speed or direction that occurs between the surface and 2,000 ft above ground level.
One cause of low level wind shear in coastal locations is the sea breeze. A sea breeze is
caused during the day when the air over the surface of the land heats more quickly than
the air over surface of the nearby body of water. Low level wind shear caused by a sea
breeze was identified at Patrick Space Force Base (KCOF) in east-central Florida for two
meteorological summers.
Surface maps were analyzed for a sea breeze between 12Z and 18Z. The sea
breeze was identified by a west to east wind shift during the time frame. Once the sea
breeze days were identified, VAD wind profiles were collected from the radar in
Melbourne, FL from the NCEI’s NEXRAD archive. The VAD wind profiles were then
uploaded to NOAA’s Weather and Climate Toolkit. The VAD wind profiles were used to
find vertical directional low level wind shear as well as vertical speed low level wind
shear. The vertical directional low level wind shear was found by comparing the wind
direction at the surface to the wind at 2,000 ft AGL. The vertical speed low level wind
shear was calculated for two layers. The first layer was the surface to 1,000 ft AGL and
the second layer was 1,000 ft AGL to 2,000 ft AGL.
Overall, there were 40 sea breeze days found for the two summers. 36 of the 40
days had VAD wind profile data that could be analyzed for the times of 12Z, 15Z, and
18Z. Out of the 36 days, vertical directional low level wind shear was found for 18 days
at 12Z, 23 days at 15Z, and 32 days at 18Z. There was only one day that had no vertical
directional low level wind shear for any of these times. Additionally, there were 15 days
out of the 36 days that had vertical speed low level wind shear of at least 5 kts per 1,000
ft in both layers for one or more hours within the time period of 12Z, 15Z, and 18Z.