Preliminary Analysis of Data from the TORUS Experiment

This presentation describes an analysis of mobile mesonet data collected during the 2019 TORUS (Targeted Observation by Radars and Unmanned Aircraft Systems of Supercells) field campaign. The project spanned much of the central United States, a region conducive to springtime severe storms, some capable of producing tornadoes. Five case studies from TORUS are discussed -- three significantly tornadic events and one non-significantly tornadic event. Within the context of radar reflectivity data, mobile mesonet data are studied to discern wind shifts and thermodynamic fluctuations likely associated with boundaries within the storm. These boundaries may be surface manifestations of a small-scale feature known as an SVC (streamwise vorticity current) which could be a source of near-ground rotation for tornadoes. The analyses will be important to guide researchers in revising and improving observing strategies for the 2020 TORUS campaign.