scholarly journals A Multiple-Vortex Tornado in Southeastern Brazil

2014 ◽  
Vol 142 (9) ◽  
pp. 3017-3037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernani de Lima Nascimento ◽  
Gerhard Held ◽  
Ana Maria Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Still Images ◽  
Local Boundary ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Severe Thunderstorms ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level

During the late afternoon hours of 24 May 2005 a severe weather outbreak occurred in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Severe thunderstorms were observed ahead of a surface cold front, including a (Southern Hemisphere) cyclonic left-moving supercell that produced a multiple-vortex tornado in the outskirts of the town of Indaiatuba, Brazil (23.1°S, 47.2°W). A documentation of the multivortex structure of the tornado and of the cloud-base features is performed using still images from a video that recorded the event. Characteristics of the tornadic thunderstorm and the synoptic-scale environment in which it developed are examined using Doppler radar data, geostationary satellite imagery, surface and upper-air observations, and data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s Climate Forecast System Reanalysis. The cloud base of the thunderstorm displayed morphological features associated with midlatitude tornadic supercells, including a low-level mesocyclone and a “clear slot”; however, the rear-flank downdraft did not obscure the view of the tornado from the western flank of the storm. The tornadic storm developed in a moist prefrontal environment with a low-level jet. Limited mesoscale observations hampered the quantitative analysis of the local thermodynamic forcing, but the available data suggest that the supercell developed under moderate conditional instability. Strong speed and directional vertical wind shear were observed, while the local boundary layer displayed very high relative humidity and low surface-based lifting condensation level.

scholarly journals The Role of Observed Environmental Conditions and Precipitation Evolution in the Rapid Intensification of Hurricane Earl (2010)

2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
pp. 2207-2223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Susca-Lopata ◽  
Jonathan Zawislak ◽  
Edward J. Zipser ◽  
Robert F. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Rapid Intensification ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Wind Retrievals

Abstract An investigation into the possible causes of the rapid intensification (RI) of Hurricane Earl (2010) is carried out using a combination of global analyses, aircraft Doppler radar data, and observations from passive microwave satellites and a long-range lightning network. Results point to an important series of events leading to, and just after, the onset of RI, all of which occur despite moderate (7–12 m s−1) vertical wind shear present. Beginning with an initially vertically misaligned vortex, observations indicate that asymmetric deep convection, initially left of shear but not distinctly up- or downshear, rotates into more decisively upshear regions. Following this convective rotation, the vortex becomes aligned and precipitation symmetry increases. The potential contributions to intensification from each of these structural changes are discussed. The radial distribution of intense convection relative to the radius of maximum wind (RMW; determined from Doppler wind retrievals) is estimated from microwave and lightning data. Results indicate that intense convection is preferentially located within the upper-level (8 km) RMW during RI, lending further support to the notion that intense convection within the RMW promotes tropical cyclone intensification. The distribution relative to the low-level RMW is more ambiguous, with intense convection preferentially located just outside of the low-level RMW at times when the upper-level RMW is much greater than the low-level RMW.

scholarly journals Doppler Radar Analysis of a Tornadic Miniature Supercell during the Landfall of Typhoon Mujigae (2015) in South China

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (9) ◽  
pp. 1821-1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Zhao ◽  
Mingjun Wang ◽  
Ming Xue ◽  
Peiling Fu ◽  
Zhonglin Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Convective Available Potential Energy ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Direction ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Large Cell ◽  
Small Surface ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Wind Analysis ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level

Abstract On 4 October 2015, a miniature supercell embedded in an outer rainband of Typhoon Mujigae produced a major tornado in Guangdong province of China, leading to 4 deaths and up to 80 injuries. This study documents the structure and evolution of the tornadic miniature supercell using coastal Doppler radars, a sounding, videos, and a damage survey. This tornado is rated at least EF3 on the enhanced Fujita scale. It is by far the strongest typhoon rainband tornado yet documented in China, and possessed double funnels near its peak intensity. Radar analysis indicates that this tornadic miniature supercell exhibited characteristics similar to those found in United States landfalling hurricanes, including a hook echo, low-level inf low notches, an echo top below 10 km, a small and shallow mesocyclone, and a long lifespan (3 h). The environmental conditions—which consisted of moderate convective available potential energy (CAPE), a low lifting condensation level, a small surface dewpoint depression, a large veering low-level vertical wind shear, and a large cell-relative helicity—are favorable for producing miniature supercells. The mesocyclone, with its maximum intensity at 2 km above ground level (AGL), formed an hour before tornadogenesis. A tornado vortex signature (TVS) was identified between 1 and 3 km AGL, when the parent mesocyclone reached its peak radar-indicated intensity of 30 m s−1. The TVS was located between the updraft and forward-flank downdraft, near the center of the mesocyclone. Dual-Doppler wind analysis reveals that tilting of the low-level vorticity into the vertical direction and subsequent stretching by a strong updraft were the main contributors to the mesocyclone intensification.

Doppler Radar Analysis of the Eyewall Replacement Cycle of Hurricane Matthew (2016) in Vertical Wind Shear

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-Yu Cha ◽  
Michael M. Bell ◽  
Alexander J. DesRosiers
Keyword(s):  
Wind Shear ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Secondary Circulation ◽  
Vertical Wind ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
Radar Observations ◽  
Eyewall Replacement Cycle ◽  
Replacement Cycle

AbstractHurricane Matthew (2016) was observed by ground-based polarimetric radars in Miami (KAMX), Melbourne (KMLB), and Jacksonville (KJAX) and a NOAA P3 airborne tail Doppler radar near the coast of the southeastern United States during an eyewall replacement cycle (ERC). The radar observations indicate that Matthew’s primary eyewall was replaced with a weaker outer eyewall, but unlike a classic ERC, Matthew did not reintensify after the inner eyewall disappeared. Triple Doppler analysis was calculated from the NOAA P3 airborne fore and aft radar scanning combined with the KAMX radar data during the period of secondary eyewall intensification and inner eyewall weakening from 19 UTC 6 October to 00 UTC 7 October. Four flight passes of the P3 aircraft show the evolution of the reflectivity, tangential winds, and secondary circulation as the outer eyewall became well-established. Further evolution of the ERC is analyzed from the ground-based single Doppler radar observations for 35 hours with high temporal resolution at a 5-minute interval from 19 UTC 6 October to 00 UTC 8 October using the Generalized Velocity Track Display (GVTD) technique. The single-Doppler analyses indicate that the inner eyewall decayed a few hours after the P3 flight, while the outer eyewall contracted but did not reintensify and the asymmetries increased episodically. The analysis suggests that the ERC process was influenced by a complex combination of environmental vertical wind shear, an evolving axisymmetric secondary circulation, and an asymmetric vortex Rossby wave damping mechanism that promoted vortex resiliency despite increasing shear.

Retrieved Thermodynamic Structure of Hurricane Rita (2005) from Airborne Multi-Doppler Radar Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette M. Boehm ◽  
Michael M. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Wind Shear ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Vertical Wind ◽  
Vertical Acceleration ◽  
Hurricane Rita ◽  
Doppler Radar Data

AbstractThe newly developed SAMURAI-TR is used to estimate three-dimensional temperature and pressure perturbations in Hurricane Rita on 23 September 2005 from multi-Doppler radar data during the RAINEX field campaign. These are believed to be the first fully three-dimensional gridded thermodynamic observations from a TC. Rita was a major hurricane at this time and was affected by 13 m s−1 deep-layer vertical wind shear. Analysis of the contributions of the kinematic and retrieved thermodynamic fields to different azimuthal wavenumbers suggests the interpretation of eyewall convective forcing within a three-level framework of balanced, quasi-balanced, and unbalanced motions. The axisymmetric, wavenumber-0 structure was approximately in thermal-wind balance, resulting in a large pressure drop and temperature increase toward the center. The wavenumber-1 structure was determined by the interaction of the storm with environmental vertical wind shear resulting in a quasi-balance between shear and shear-induced kinematic and thermo-dynamic perturbations. The observed wavenumber-1 thermodynamic asymmetries corroborate results of previous studies on the response of a vortex tilted by shear, and add new evidence that the vertical motion is nearly hydrostatic on the wavenumber-1 scale. Higher-order wavenumbers were associated with unbalanced motions and convective cells within the eyewall. The unbalanced vertical acceleration was positively correlated with buoyant forcing from thermal perturbations and negatively correlated with perturbation pressure gradients relative to the balanced vortex.

Analysis of the Evolution of a Meiyu Frontal Rainstorm Based on Doppler Radar Data Assimilation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongli Li ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
Zhimin Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Mature Stage ◽  
Convective System ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Sufficient Energy ◽  
Study Results

<p>During the Meiyu period, floods are prone to occur in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River due to the highly concentrated and heavy rainfall, which caused huge life and economic losses. Based on numerical simulation by assimilating Doppler radar, radiosonde, and surface meteorological observations, the evolution mechanism for the initiation, development and decaying of a Meiyu frontal rainstorm that occurred from 4th to 5th July 2014 is analyzed in this study. Results show that the numerical experiment can well reproduce the temporal variability of heavy precipitation and successfully simulate accumulative precipitation and its evolution over the key rainstorm area. The simulated “rainbelt training” is consistent with observed “echo training” on both spatial structure and temporal evolution. The convective cells in the mesoscale convective belt propagated from southwest to northeast across the key rainstorm area, leading to large accumulative precipitation and rainstorm in this area. There existed convective instability in lower levels above the key rainstorm area, while strong ascending motion developed during period of heavy rainfall. Combined with abundant water vapor supply, the above condition was favorable for the formation and development of heavy rainfall. The Low level jet (LLJ) provided sufficient energy for the rainstorm system, and the low-level convergence intensified, which was an important reason for the maintenance of precipitation system and its eventual intensification to rainstorm. At its mature stage, the rainstorm system demonstrated vertically tilted structure with strong ascending motion in the key rainstorm area, which was favorable for the occurrence of heavy rainfall. In the decaying stage, unstable energy decreased, and the rainstorm no longer had sufficient energy to sustain. The rapid weakening of LLJ resulted in smaller energy supply to the convective system, and the stratification tended to be stable in the middle and lower levels. The ascending motion weakened correspondingly, which made it hard for the convective system to maintain.</p>

scholarly journals Use of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra to Evaluate Stratocumulus Drizzle Size Distributions in Large-Eddy Simulations with Size-Resolved Microphysics

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
pp. 3263-3283 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rémillard ◽  
A. M. Fridlind ◽  
A. S. Ackerman ◽  
G. Tselioudis ◽  
P. Kollias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Doppler Velocity ◽  
Sharp Reduction ◽  
Cloud Radar ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Large Eddy ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Bin Microphysics

AbstractA case study of persistent stratocumulus over the Azores is simulated using two independent large-eddy simulation (LES) models with bin microphysics, and forward-simulated cloud radar Doppler moments and spectra are compared with observations. Neither model is able to reproduce the monotonic increase of downward mean Doppler velocity with increasing reflectivity that is observed under a variety of conditions, but for differing reasons. To a varying degree, both models also exhibit a tendency to produce too many of the largest droplets, leading to excessive skewness in Doppler velocity distributions, especially below cloud base. Excessive skewness appears to be associated with an insufficiently sharp reduction in droplet number concentration at diameters larger than ~200 μm, where a pronounced shoulder is found for in situ observations and a sharp reduction in reflectivity size distribution is associated with relatively narrow observed Doppler spectra. Effectively using LES with bin microphysics to study drizzle formation and evolution in cloud Doppler radar data evidently requires reducing numerical diffusivity in the treatment of the stochastic collection equation; if that is accomplished sufficiently to reproduce typical spectra, progress toward understanding drizzle processes is likely.

scholarly journals Analysis of Tropical Storm Formation Based on Ensemble Data Assimilation and High-Resolution Numerical Simulations of a Nondeveloping Disturbance

2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (10) ◽  
pp. 3631-3649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Penny ◽  
Joshua P. Hacker ◽  
Patrick A. Harr
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Data Assimilation ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Ensemble Data Assimilation ◽  
Ensemble Data ◽  
The Impact

A nondeveloping tropical disturbance, identified as TCS025, was observed during three intensive observing periods during The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T-PARC)/Tropical Cyclone Structure-2008 (TCS-08) field experiment. The low-level circulation of the disturbance was relatively weak, asymmetric, and displaced a considerable distance from the midlevel circulation. An ensemble of high-resolution numerical simulations initialized from global model analyses was used to further examine TCS025. These simulations tended to unrealistically overdevelop the TCS025 disturbance. This study extends that work by examining the impact of assimilating in situ observations of TCS025 and dual-Doppler radial velocities from the airborne Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA) using the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART) ensemble data assimilation system. The assimilation of observations results in a more accurate vortex structure that is consistent with the observational analysis. In addition, forecasts initialized from the state of the ensemble after data assimilation exhibit less development than both the control simulation and an ensemble of forecasts without prior data assimilation. A composite analysis of developing and nondeveloping forecasts from the ensemble reveals that convection was more active in developing simulations, especially near the low-level circulation center. This led to larger diabatic heating rates, spinup of the low-level circulation from vorticity stretching, and greater alignment of the low- and midlevel vorticity centers. In contrast, nondeveloping simulations exhibited less convection, and the circulation was more heavily impacted by vertical wind shear.

Quadrant Distribution of Tropical Cyclone Inner-Core Kinematics in Relation to Environmental Shear

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 2713-2732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer C. DeHart ◽  
Robert A. Houze ◽  
Robert F. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Strong Convection ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Left Quadrant

Abstract Airborne Doppler radar data collected in tropical cyclones by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration WP-3D aircraft over an 8-yr period (2003–10) are used to statistically analyze the vertical structure of tropical cyclone eyewalls with reference to the deep-layer shear. Convective evolution within the inner core conforms to patterns shown by previous studies: convection initiates downshear right, intensifies downshear left, and weakens upshear. Analysis of the vertical distribution of radar reflectivity and vertical air motion indicates the development of upper-level downdrafts in conjunction with strong convection downshear left and a maximum in frequency upshear left. Intense updrafts and downdrafts both conform to the shear asymmetry pattern. While strong updrafts occur in the eyewall, intense downdrafts show far more radial variability, particularly in the upshear-left quadrant, though they concentrate along the eyewall edges. Strong updrafts are collocated with low-level inflow and upper-level outflow superimposed on the background flow. In contrast, strong downdrafts occur in association with low-level outflow and upper-level inflow.

Bow Echo Mesovortices. Part II: Their Genesis

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (5) ◽  
pp. 1514-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nolan T. Atkins ◽  
Michael St. Laurent
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Convective System ◽  
Saint Louis ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Front Position ◽  
Bow Echo ◽  
Convective Scale ◽  
Mesoscale Convective ◽  
Mesoscale Convective Vortex

Abstract This two-part study examines the damaging potential and genesis of low-level, meso-γ-scale mesovortices formed within bow echoes. This was accomplished by analyzing quasi-idealized simulations of the 10 June 2003 Saint Louis bow echo event observed during the Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment (BAMEX). In Part II of this study, mesovortex genesis was investigated for vortices formed at different stages of convective system evolution. During the early “cellular” stage, cyclonic mesovortices were observed. The cyclonic mesovortices formed from the tilting of baroclinic horizontal vorticity acquired by downdraft parcels entering the mesovortex. As the convective system evolved into a bow echo, cyclonic–anticyclonic mesovortex pairs were also observed. The vortex couplet was produced by a local updraft maximum that tilted baroclinically generated vortex lines upward into arches. The local updraft maximum was created by a convective-scale downdraft that produced an outward bulge in the gust front position. Cyclonic-only mesovortices were predominantly observed as the convective system evolved into the mature bow echo stage. Similar to the early cellular stage, these mesovortices formed from the tilting of baroclinic horizontal vorticity acquired by downdraft parcels entering the mesovortex. The downdraft parcels descended within the rear-inflow jet. The generality of the mesovortex genesis mechanisms was assessed by examining the structure of observed mesovortices in Doppler radar data. The mesovortex genesis mechanisms were also compared to others reported in the literature and the genesis of low-level mesocyclones in supercell thunderstorms.

A Squall-Line-Like Principal Rainband in Typhoon Hagupit (2008) Observed by Airborne Doppler Radar

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 2733-2746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaowen Tang ◽  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Michael Bell
Keyword(s):  
Wind Shear ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Wind ◽  
Squall Line ◽  
Cold Pool ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Squall Lines ◽  
Convective Cells

Abstract This study examines the structure and dynamics of Typhoon Hagupit’s (2008) principal rainband using airborne radar and dropsonde observations. The convection in Hagupit’s principal rainband was organized into a well-defined line with trailing stratiform precipitation on the inner side. Individual convective cells had intense updrafts and downdrafts and were aligned in a wavelike pattern along the line. The line-averaged vertical cross section possessed a slightly inward-tilting convective core and two branches of low-level inflow feeding the convection. The result of a thermodynamic retrieval showed a pronounced cold pool behind the convective line. The horizontal and vertical structures of this principal rainband show characteristics that are different than the existing conceptual model and are more similar to squall lines and outer rainbands. The unique convective structure of Hagupit’s principal rainband was associated with veering low-level vertical wind shear and large convective instability in the environment. A quantitative assessment of the cold pool strength showed that it was quasi balanced with that of the low-level vertical wind shear. The balanced state and the structural characteristics of convection in Hagupit’s principal rainband were dynamically consistent with the theory of cold pool dynamics widely applied to strong and long-lived squall lines. The analyses suggest that cold pool dynamics played a role in determining the principal rainband structure in addition to storm-scale vortex dynamics.

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