21st Conf. on Severe Local Storms and 19th Conf. on Weather Analysis and Forecasting/15th Conf. on Numerical Weather Prediction

Tuesday, 13 August 2002: 10:30 AM
Radar characteristics of violent tornadic storms using the NSSL algorithms across separate geographic regions of the United States
Chris Broyles, NOAA/NWS, Amarillo, TX; and R. Wynne, N. Dipasquale, H. Guerrero, and T. Hendricks
Poster PDF (3.9 MB)
The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of radar characteristics associated with violent tornadic storms and to determine the similarities and differences of the characteristics across separate geographic regions of the United States. For this study, 38 United States violent tornadic storms were analyzed from 1993 to 2001 using the NSSL algorithms. Storm types and environment characteristics were identified. In addition, radar signatures were examined including hooks, pendants, inflow notches, rear flank downdrafts and V-notches. Also, maximum rotational velocity, cell-based VIL, mesocylone strength, gate to gate shear, mesocyclone diameter and other parameters were analyzed. As a result, radar characteristics favorable for violent tornadoes are presented for different geographic regions of the United States.

Supplementary URL: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/html/Violenttornadoes.html