Observations of Tornadic Mesovortices in the 27 February 2023 Central Oklahoma Quasi-Linear Convective System

Quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) tornadoes are notoriously difficult to observe with weather radar. Most conventional, rotating antenna-based radars collect full volume scans of the atmosphere at rates often similar to the entire lifecycle of a QLCS tornado. Hence, even with rapid revisits at lower elevations, the full volumetric evolution of the radar-observed kinematics and microphysics is not well-observed by conventional radar. However, phased array radar (PAR) can leverage electronic beam steering to collect rapid-update volumes with vertically dense elevation angles. The Advanced Technology Demonstrator (ATD) in Norman, OK is the first full-scale, S-band, dual-polarization PAR that has been built strictly for weather observation. In 2023, the ATD observed more than forty weather cases, including a severe QLCS in Central Oklahoma that produced thirteen tornadoes. The parent mesovortices of four of the tornadoes were particularly well-observed by the ATD. Using ATD data, this presentation will summarize a dual-polarization analysis of four tornadic mesovortices. Vertically dense radar volumes were collected by ATD every 2 minutes, which will be shown to resolve rapidly evolving convective scale processes integral to QLCS mesovortex evolution. In particular, processes in the full vertical column will be discussed with attention paid to the dual-polarization information in a quasi-Lagrangian framework. Emphasis will also be placed on dual-polarization inferred microphysical processes near the mesovortices, which will be discussed in context of recent in-situ studies of near-mesovortex cold pool structure.