Resumen
El noroeste de Suramérica es una región tropical montañosa, delimitada por el mar Caribe y los Andes, con alta vulnerabilidad frente a eventos hidrometeorológicos extremos. En las noches entre junio y agosto es frecuente el desarrollo de sistemas convectivos de mesoescala (SCM) que pueden generar impactos negativos en la región. En este estudio se caracterizaron cuatro eventos de SCM en esta región mediante el uso combinado de datos de estaciones hidrometeorológicas, estimaciones satelitales, reanálisis climático y simulaciones numéricas a escala de convección permitida (CP), utilizando el modelo Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF). Los eventos presentaron núcleos convectivos profundos (>11 km) sobre los piedemontes andinos, que alcanzaron su madurez sobre las planicies del Caribe colombiano. A escala sinóptica se identificaron señales como el paso de ondas del este, zonas de baja presión en la baja troposfera y vientos amazónicos canalizados desde el sur. A mesoescala se evidenciaron patrones de flujos canalizados por los valles del Magdalena y del Cauca (posiblemente vinculados a vientos amazónicos), brisas de mar y tierra extendidas, con características propias de chorros de bajo nivel nocturnos y vientos del noroeste canalizados por la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta y la cordillera Central. En todos los casos se observó un aumento promedio del 12,6 % en el agua precipitable y una intensificación de la convergencia en la baja troposfera durante las 6 a 8 horas anteriores al desarrollo de los SCM, lo que sugiere que estas escalas temporales pueden ser útiles para la gestión del riesgo. Los resultados destacan el valor del modelo WRF en configuración CP para simular los SCM en entornos tropicales con topografía compleja.
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