Sunday, 6 January 2013
Exhibit Hall 3 (Austin Convention Center)
Derived radar parameters were investigated to determine the correlation between radar products and tornado intensity. More than four–hundred tornadoes from eleven tornado outbreaks between 2008 and 2011 were analyzed using WSR–88D radar sites. Radar reflectivity data was quality controlled, and Doppler velocity data was dealiased and then merged in order to fill in any potential data gaps related to volume coverage, geometry, or blockages. Derived parameters included reflectivity values at certain heights and maximum azimuthal shear values within certain layers of the atmosphere. The lifetime maximum values of these fields surrounding tornado tracks were extracted and compared to the reported tornado intensities. It was found that lifetime maximums of radar derived parameters showed little discrimination of tornado intensity. However calculations of azimuthal shear area of the tornado paths did show some discrimination.
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