From November 26, strong northwesterly winds were observed at Bengkulu Meteorological Observatory by surface meteorological observations and balloon soundings. Northwesterly winds were observed from near the surface up to ~5 km, with the maximum wind speed occurring in the 1-3 km layer (22.3 m/s). The horizontal winds at 1.0 km height estimated from radar observations showed strong northwesterly winds both over the land and the sea (Figs 1-3).
Meanwhile, radar observations showed that enhanced convection developed over the sea to the west of Bengkulu, particularly during the early morning hours. The convection migrated eastward from the sea toward the land on the western coast of Sumatra Island, causing persisted precipitation from 26 to 28 November over Bengkulu (Figs 4-6). The present situation is similar to that during mid to late December 2015 in an active phase of the MJO during the pre-YMC field campaign.
(Wu and Dodi)
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