Rapid-Scan, Polarimetric, Doppler Radar Observations of Tornadogenesis and Tornado Dissipation in a Tornadic Supercell: The "El Reno, Oklahoma" Storm of 24 May 2011*

被引:58
作者
Houser, Jana Lesak [1 ]
Bluestein, Howard B. [2 ]
Snyder, Jeffrey C. [2 ]
机构
[1] Ohio Univ, Athens, OH 45701 USA
[2] Univ Oklahoma, Sch Meteorol, Norman, OK 73019 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
SIMULATED CYCLIC MESOCYCLOGENESIS; DESCENDING REFLECTIVITY CORES; SEVERE CONVECTIVE STORMS; RESOLUTION DUAL-DOPPLER; X-BAND; PART II; NUMERICAL-SIMULATION; VORTEX SIGNATURES; BOUNDARY-LAYER; PHASED-ARRAY;
D O I
10.1175/MWR-D-14-00253.1
中图分类号
P4 [大气科学(气象学)];
学科分类号
0706 ; 070601 ;
摘要
On 24 May 2011, a mobile, rapid-scan, X-band, polarimetric, Doppler radar (RaXPol) collected data on a supercell as it produced two tornadoes near El Reno, Oklahoma. The first tornado, rated an EF-3, was documented from intensification to decay, and the genesis and intensification of a second tornado that was rated an EF-5 was subsequently also documented. The objective of this study is to examine the spatiotemporal evolution of the rotation associated with the tornadoes (i) as the first tornado weakened to subtornadic intensity and (ii) as the second tornado formed and intensified. It is found that weakening did not occur monotonically. The transition from tornadic to subtornadic intensity over the depth of the radar volume (similar to 4 km) occurred in less than 30 s, but this behavior is contingent upon the threshold for Doppler shear used to define the tornado. Similarly, the onset of a tornadic-strength Doppler velocity couplet occurred within a 30-s period over all elevations. Additionally, the evolution of storm-scale features associated with tornado dissipation and tornadogenesis is detailed. These features evolved considerably over relatively short time intervals (1-4 min). It is shown that during the transition period between the two tornadoes, two mesocyclones were present, but neither the tornadoes nor the mesocyclones evolved in a manner entirely consistent with any published conceptual model of supercell cycling, although certain aspects were similar to classic conceptual models. The mesocyclone and the tornado evolved differently from each other, in a manner that resembles a hybrid between the occluding and nonoccluding cyclic mesocyclogenesis models presented by Adlerman and Droegemeier.
引用
收藏
页码:2685 / 2710
页数:26
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