010916 Radar and Sounding Operation Status

The radar operated continuously without significant problems.  The 
antenna drifted up and hung
briefly near the vertical stops after completing an RHI this am.  The 
antenna utiility was used to
bring the antenna down and start the next scanning cycle.

Convective activity increased in the vicinity of the ship after about 
06 UTC.  By 10Z, a large
complex had formed over the ship and continued to grow in aerial 
extent.  This feature produced
1-2/minute flash rates and heavy rains.  Cross sections showed 
numerous vigorous cells
extending above 14 km and 30 dBZ's to 8-10 km.  The activity 
continued until about 15-16 UTC,
after which time echo coverage and intensity began to slowly 
decrease.  Radar animations
showed a complicated flow pattern with low level cells appearing to 
advect eastward while
upper level echos detrained off to the east.  A number of outflow 
boundaries were observed
that complicated the overall flow pattern.

The 04Z sounding did not return winds and the 08Z sounding lost 
humidity data above 500 mb
after penetrating a cloud.  A notable diurnal signal of decreasing 
thermal buoyancy with time
was evident in the sounding data.  Also, the low-level westerlies 
deepened considerably
compared to yesterday.