Evolution of the Tornadic 13-14 April 2018 Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) Observed During VORTEX-SE 2018

During the evening of 13-14 April 2018, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) developed in eastern Texas and traversed across northern Louisiana and into western Mississippi. Three long-lived regions of cyclonic shear, spaced about 30 km apart, formed along the leading portion of the convective line. Within these shear zones, several EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes developed, producing numerous patches of damage across southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, and Mississippi and leading to the death of one child in Shreveport, LA.

The two University of Oklahoma (OU) C-band Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research and Teaching (SMART) radars were deployed north of Shreveport in a quasi-linear, three-radar network spaced about 45 km apart, with the NWS WSR-88D forming the southern radar. The University of Louisiana-Monroe deployed a mobile iMet sounding system in the eastern lobe of the two southern Doppler radars. Several soundings were taken ahead of the QLCS. Mobile Doppler radar data were collected over a nine-hour period, including 2.5-minute temporal resolution during the two-hour passage of the convective line.

The paths of all three shear zones nearly intersected each one of the radars in the network. Hence, both multi-Doppler and high-resolution single-Doppler analyses will be shown to document the persistence of the shear zone and the role of vertical drafts and enhanced rear-inflow on the development of the tornadic stage of the vorticity regions. The analyses will be related to the NWS damage survey of the event.