Environmental Factors Influential to the Duration and Intensity of Tornadoes in Simulated Supercells

Simulations were performed using an idealized cloud model (CM1) to investigate the environmental conditions influential to the duration and intensity of tornado-like vortices spawned from simulated supercells. The environments studied are from RUC-2 soundings taken in close proximity to significantly tornadic (EF2 or greater) supercells. Twenty-one simulations produced a tornado-like vortex, detected using an automated algorithm based on Rankine vortex theory. Longevity is determined by counting the number of times that the tornado was detected (monitored every 30 seconds) and intensity is based upon the maximum central pressure drop relative to the environment several km from the tornado during the tornado's lifetime.

A multiple linear regression (analysis of variance) was performed to determine which variables are most influential to tornado duration and intensity. It will be shown at the conference that the variables that explain most of the variance in tornado duration and intensity differ from those that have been previously shown to best discriminate between significantly tornadic and non-tornadic environments.