Rachael Cross - March 12

Convective Meteorology (Mesoscale Dynamics) Seminar Exploring Observational Tornado Debris Signature Hypotheses Using Radar Simulations and Large-Eddy Simulations Rachael Cross Friday, March 12th 3:00pm   Join Google Meet https://meet.google.com/ksh-txvg-kni Tornadoes can loft various types and sizes of debris, sometimes resulting in a polarimetric radar signature called the TDS (Tornado Debris Signature). The presence of a

Start

March 12, 2021 - 3:00 pm

End

March 12, 2021 - 4:00 pm

Convective Meteorology (Mesoscale Dynamics) Seminar

Exploring Observational Tornado Debris Signature Hypotheses Using Radar Simulations and Large-Eddy Simulations

Rachael Cross

Friday, March 12th

3:00pm

 

Join Google Meet

https://meet.google.com/ksh-txvg-kni

Tornadoes can loft various types and sizes of debris, sometimes resulting in a polarimetric radar signature called the TDS (Tornado Debris Signature). The presence of a TDS in the radar data can help confirm the occurrence of a tornado, and provide information about the amount of damage occurring, making it a useful feature for operational forecasters. Past observational studies have suggested how the TDS evolves during a tornado’s lifecycle, but few studies have related the polarimetric characteristics of a TDS to the tornado’s wind field owing to the difficulty in obtaining three-dimensional wind data in tornadoes. This study aims to not only investigate the relationships between  polarimetric weather radar variables in TDSs and the three-dimensional winds of tornadoes, but to also breakdown the relationship of the TDS debris size, type, and concentration.

A simulation-based framework is adopted since the tornado debris and wind characteristics are known, and thus these relationships proposed from observations can be explored in a more controlled manner. To accomplish this, simulations were performed using Large-Eddy Simulations of tornadoes and a dual-polarization radar simulator called SimRadar. Using SimRadar and a single-volume emulator, relationships between polarimetric variables and debris size, type, and concentrations are analyzed. Specifically, our study evaluates if reflectivity and correlation coefficient can provide information about debris size and concentration. Additionally, a dynamic, tornadogenesis simulation is used to allow for the analysis of the evolution of polarimetric variables in an intensifying tornado. Results from these simulations show how wind characteristics of the simulated tornadoes, such as updraft intensity and area, magnitude of horizontal wind speeds, and vertical vorticity, are related to polarimetric variables. These findings can aid operational forecasters in tornado detection and potentially the categorization of damage severity using radar data.