The structure of a tornado: Ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD) analysis of mobile, W-band, Doppler radar data on 15 May 1999 near Stockton, Kansas

High-resolution wind and reflectivity data were collected from several minutes after tornadogenesis up until the end of the life of a tornado on 15 May 1999 near Stockton, Kansas. The data were collected by the U. Mass., mobile, W-band Doppler radar. Thirty-five sector scans were obtained over a ten-minute period. The tornado was connected to its parent storm by a high-reflectivity "umbilical cord." The tornado was marked by a weak-echo eye. The annulus of high reflectivity around the eye exhibited significant variations in structure throughout the duration of the deployment.

The Ground-Based Velocity Track Display (GBVTD) technique was applied to this dataset. The radial profiles of mean azimuthally averaged azimuthal velocity, azimuthally averaged radial velocity, and the predominant wavenumber structure of the wind field in the tornado, as a function of time, will be discussed.