Comparison between DOW observed tornadoes and parent mesocyclones observed by WSR-88Ds

Between 1995 and 2004, the Doppler on Wheels (DOWs) mobile radar systems have observed over 50 tornadoes at close range. Typical resolution in tornadoes from this dataset is on the order of 50 m X 50 m X 50 m (sometimes as fine as 12 m x 3 m x 3 m) with 60 s updates and observations usually extending below 100 m AGL and up to 3-5 km AGL. High resolution Doppler velocity measurements of these tornadoes exhibit large variations in the size, peak intensity, and structure of the core-flow and surrounding region. A comparison is presented between the evolution of the near-surface velocity field of several prominent tornadoes observed by the DOWs and the characterisitics of the parent mesocyclones as detetected by the nearest WSR-88D. Concurrent time series of the peak DOW-observed velocity difference across the low-level tornadoes and the 88D mesocyclone detection/strength algorithm (MDA/MSI) and tornado vortex signature (TVS) are constructed for this comparison.