EnKF assimilation of storm-scale, mobile Doppler radar data into high-resolution analyses of a weakly tornadic supercell

An unusually comprehensive mobile Doppler radar data set was collected in the 26 May 2010 Prospect Valley, Colorado supercell during Project VORTEX2. Data from Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research and Teaching Radar (SMART-R) data, with 100 m range resolution and 1° azimuthal resolution, are assimilated into high resolution (250 m horizontal grid spacing), Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) model using the EnKF technique. Continuous, volumetric data from nearby WSR-88Ds (which are not as susceptible to attenuation in precipitation) are used to establish the large-scale storm features in the initial condition ensemble, while SMART-R data are assimilated to generate detailed analyses of the supercell. The analyses are both subjectively and objectively verified against other, independently gathered radar observations of the same storm. Sources of vorticity are investigated using short-duration trajectory analyses, and sensitivity of these trajectories to assimilation of different radar data sets is assessed.