Patrick Skinner, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, The University of Oklahoma
High-Resolution Ensemble Analyses of Tornadogenesis in the 31 May 2013 El Reno, Oklahoma Supercell
Coauthors
Louis Wicker, Howard Bluestein, Jeffrey Snyder, and Kyle ThiemAbstract:
This study uses LETKF data assimilation of rapid-scan Doppler radar data to retrieve the three-dimensional wind and thermodynamic state of a supercell thunderstorm in central Oklahoma occurring 31 May 2013. Analyses are produced by assimilating data collected by a mobile, rapid-scan, X-band, polarimetric radar (RaXPol) and S-band, phased-array radar (MPAR) prior to, and during the genesis of an intense tornado.
Ensemble analyses are produced with 500-m horizontal grid spacing at 1-minute intervals from 18 minutes prior to tornado development through the first 10 minutes of the tornado lifecycle. Analyses are examined to identify storm-scale kinematic precursors to tornadogenesis, which are then compared with the high-resolution polarimetric data to diagnose radar signatures of the kinematic features.