Examination of Storm Cell Evolution using the GTRI DBSCAN Cell Identification and Tracking Algorithm

A novel storm cell identification and tracking algorithm based on density-based spatial clustering with applications in noise (DBSCAN) has been developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC). The application of this DBSCAN algorithm allows for the examination of various cell based parameters over the lifetime of individual storm cells. Some of the parameters examined include lightning data from the NLDN (normalized by cell volume and time), cell volume at various reflectivity thresholds, maximum radar reflectivity within the cell, height of maximum reflectivity, as well as the height evolution of various reflectivity levels, and other parameters. This paper examines both the effectiveness of the DBSCAN algorithm in determining these bulk properties and the evolution of these parameters in several different types of storm cells.