Analysis of the development mechanisms of a large-hail storm event on the Adriatic Sea

A severe weather event is analyzed in terms of cell development, dynamics, and thermodynamics. The Mediterranean region is sporadically affected by severe weather events causing damage and injuries. An unusual and severe weather event hit Italy on July 9-10, 2019 causing heavy damage. The meteorological structure was characterized by a trough entering the eastern Mediterranean area from northeastern Europe affecting Italy and the Balkans with cold-air advection over the Adriatic Sea. On the morning of 10 July 2019, a supercell developed along the coast north of Pescara (central Italy), producing intense rainfall (130 mm/3 h) and a heavy hailstorm with hailstones larger than 10 cm in diameter. In this work, the dynamics and thermodynamics for triggering and maintenance of the supercell are investigated using the numerical model WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting system), satellite, radar-data, soundings, and ground observations. In the companion paper, the role of SST and orography was investigated assessing that the SST spatial representation, its anomaly distribution and the topography play a key role in triggering the supercell (Ricchi et al., 2023). In this paper, high spatial and temporal-resolution model simulations and observations are used to investigate the characteristics of the supercell by analyzing both its horizontal and vertical structure. The hailstone characteristics are assessed by using the HAILCAST parameterization in which its performance and reliability are discussed.