Mobile Doppler Radar Observations of a Tornadic Supercell near Springfield, Illinois, on 15 March 2016

On 15 March 2016, a Doppler on Wheels radar collected data on a tornadic supercell thunderstorm near Springfield, Illinois. Stationary data collection began 45 minutes before tornadogenesis and continued until after the tornado dissipated. The supercell produced an EF-1 tornado that lasted for 8 minutes and tracked through predominantly rural areas west of Springfield. From the edited radar data, the tracks of all circulations at six different levels were mapped. Excellent agreement was noted between the track of the lowest-level circulation and the tornado track from the National Weather Service damage survey. Further comparisons will be made between the depth, intensity, size, and tilt of the circulation over time as well as with the damage observed to determine if any potential relationships exist in this case.