TTUKa Mobile Doppler Radar Observations of Near-Surface Circulations in VORTEX2

The 2010 campaign of the second Verification of the Origin of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX2) marked the first occasion two Ka-band mobile Doppler radars deployed in tandem in a severe storm environment. The TTUKa radars utilize a 0.49 degree beamwidth and pulse compression techniques to achieve less than 35 m azimuthal, vertical, and range resolution. The sensitivity of the TTUKa radars provide a unique perspective of the evolution and structure of boundaries relevant to the storm scale and, potentially, the tornado scale.

TTUKa Dual-Doppler analysis of a nontornadic, near-surface mesocyclone occurring on 18 May 2010 near Dumas, Texas will be presented. Dual-Doppler data were collected continuously for 18 minutes with a 3.5 km baseline, which will allow the evolution of near-surface features including multiple RFD surges and circulations along the RFD gust front to be documented. Additionally, single-Doppler datasets of tornadic cases during the 2010 phase of VORTEX2 will be presented in an effort to identify tornadogenesis failure mechanisms for the Dumas case. When possible, in situ data collected by StickNet platforms will be incorporated to diagnose the thermodynamic environment of the near-surface circulations.