Turbulence is ubiquitous within and around moist convection. The turbulence forms as a response to dynamical and thermodynamical instabilities, and ultimately controls the structure of storms through entrainment, mixing, and dissipation processes. Turbulence generated by convection is also highly relevant because of the hazard it poses to aviation. Yet, despite its importance, we actually don’t know that much about the characteristics of turbulence associated with deep convection, including how it varies spatially and is affected by storm characteristics. One of the reasons for this lack of understanding is the difficulty observing turbulence within storms; numerical modelling can help improve this understanding. 

In this study we use idealized large-eddy simulations of mesoscale convective systems to explore the characteristics of turbulence within and around deep convection. Specifically, we use a small ensemble of simulations with 75-m grid spacing of idealized squall lines, and a larger ensemble of simulation with 125-m grid spacing; both sets of simulations are conducted for systems with two different modes of mesoscale organization.  We apply detailed spectral analysis to these simulations to characterise aspects of the turbulence (including its intensity, scale, and isotropy) and how it varies spatially. Not only do these results have importance for aviation applications, they also provide useful guidance with regards to resolution requirements for numerical modelling organized convection.