Analysis of the Goshen County tornadic supercell on 5 June 2009 during VORTEX2 using EnKF assimilation of mobile radar data

Mobile radar velocity observations collected on 5 June 2009 are assimilated into a WRF-ARW supercell simulation in order to increase the coverage of kinematic and thermodynamic data available for a detailed analysis of storm-scale features. We test the sensitivity of the EnKF results to the assimilation of proximity soundings and certain model parameters, such as single- and dual-moment microphysics. The EnKF analyses are compared to dual-Doppler wind syntheses and mobile mesonet observations for verification. The preliminary results will be used to examine typically undersampled attributes of the storm, such as the depth and thermodynamic characteristics of the outflow. Trajectory analysis will show the source regions of air entering the low-level mesocyclone during various stages of the tornado lifecycle.