Oklahoma winter precipitation event from the perspective of the Cimarron polarimetric radar

On March 8, 1994, a late season snowstorm occurred in Oklahoma and parts of the Texas Panhandle, producing snowfall amounts of up to 38 cm within a band in northern Oklahoma. Significant cloud-to-ground lightning was also observed within, but primarily south of the rain/snow transition region, in convective storms in central and southern Oklahoma. The evolution of the precipitation and the mesoscale environment during a three-hour period is examined. A unique perspective is afforded by the dual-polarization radar data collected by the Cimarron polarimetric radar operated by the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the high-resolution surface measurements of the Oklahoma Mesonet.