Interaction of severe convective gusts with a street canyon

Comparisons of the steady flow field within a street canyon model and for a gust propagation on open terrain revealed an average increase of the maximum horizontal velocity of 50% within the canyon, an increase of the outflow's height, and a conservation of high velocities over a distance more than 3 times larger compared to open terrain conditions. Further experiments with a transient gust included the generation of a ring vortex. This vortex propagates above the street canyon and results in an additional increase of peak velocities.