It has been reported (Tessendorf and Trapp, 2000) that Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) tornadoes comprise ~20 % of the total number of tornadoes that affect the continental United States. Although QLCS tornadoes are a non-trivial proportion of the total yearly number of tornado occurrences, their characteristics, as well as those of their parent storms, have yet to be studied in depth.

The authors have complied a set of QLCS tornadoes that spans 1998 and 1999. From the events in the set, radar data of 80 tornado events from 18 different locations were examined using the National Severe Storms Laboratory's (NSSL) Severe Storm Analysis Program (SSAP). The SSAP is a set of WSR-88D based algorithms that include the Mesocyclone Detection Algorithm (MDA) and the TVS Detection Algorithm (TDA). Diagnostic parameters from the MDA and TDA include "maximum gate-to-gate velocity difference", "mesocyclone base", and "TVS depth", to name a few. A statistical analysis of the MDA and TDA parameters for the 80 tornadoes will hopefully provide some coherent characteristics specific to QLCS tornadoes.