A preliminary back-trajectory and air mass climatology for the shenandoah valley

Although trajectory analyses are commonly used in air quality studies, synoptic climatological techniques, which rely more on thermal/moisture properties of air masses than on wind fields, have also been successfully applied. We merge these two approaches in the development of a preliminary winter climatology for Roanoke, Virginia. The Spatial Synoptic Classification (SSC) is used to determine daily air mass type at Roanoke, and 72-hour back-trajectories from the HYSPLIT model are examined for consistency with the air mass on the terminal day. The dynamic variability of trajectories is largely consistent with the air mass characteristics. Future research will expand the spatial domain, include all seasons, and incorporate various air quality variables into the analysis.