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19.3 Mobile Radar Observations of Tornadic Supercells with Multiple Rear-Flank Gust Fronts

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19.3 Mobile Radar Observations of Tornadic Supercells with Multiple Rear-Flank Gust Fronts 19.3 Mobile Radar Observations of Tornadic Supercells with Multiple Rear-Flank Gust Fronts ∗ JAMES MARQUIS ,YVETTE RICHARDSON, Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA JOSHUA WURMAN, Center for Severe Weather Research, Boulder, CO PAUL MARKOWSKI, Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA DAVID DOWELL National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 1. Introduction rear-flank gust front, with accompanying temperature perturba- tions (Finley and Lee 2004 and Lee et al. 2004). The source The structure of classic mature supercell storms has been de- of these secondary gust fronts is not clear, nor is their role in duced in past studies using visual observations, coarse resolu- the tornadogenesis process or in tornado maintenance. For ex- tion radar data, and idealized model simulations (e.g. Fig.7 in ample, these secondary downdrafts could represent an injection Lemon and Doswell 1979). In such models, low-level kine- of vortex rings at low-levels, possibly aiding tornadogenesis or matic structures include an updraft that is surrounded by down- tornado maintenance, but, on the other hand, they may repre- drafts on the rear-flank and forward-flank of the storm. At low- sent injections of cold air that would quickly surround the tor- levels, the updraft usually is horseshoe-shaped, arcing outward nado and disrupt the vortex. from beneath the primary mid-level updraft along the interface This paper will discuss the morphology, retrieved temper- between evaporatively cooled outflow air on the rear-flank of ature gradients, and evolution of the multiple gust front con- the storm and the buoyant environmental air (rear-flank gust figurations observed in several tornadic supercells observed by front). A low-level mesocyclone is located where the primary the Doppler on Wheels radars. These data are presently being updraft and rear-flank downdraft meet, and if a tornado is to analyzed in the context of tornado maintenance; therefore, a form, it will usually occur in this area of strong storm-scale particular emphasis is placed on the discussion of multiple gust vorticity. Tornadogenesis occurs near the time of occlusion be- fronts as they relate to tornado duration and strength. tween the rear-flank and forward-flank gust fronts and is ac- companied by a smaller-scale occlusion downdraft. Although the specific role of the rear-flank downdraft in the tornadoge- 2. Data nesis process has yet to be validated by fine-resolution obser- A combination of dual- and single-Doppler data collected in vations of combined wind and thermodynamic data, it is spec- three supercell storm intercepts by the DOWs are used to exam- ulated that this downdraft may serve as a source of horizontal, ine the structure of multiple rear-flank gust fronts in the vicinity baroclinically-generated vortex rings that become tilted into the of tornadoes. These three cases include storms intercepted on vertical at the interface between updraft and downdraft (Straka 5 June 2001 near Argonia, KS (Dowell et al. 2002); 30 April et al. 2007; Markowski et al. 2008). The tornado is assumed 2000 near Crowell, TX (Marquis et al. 2008); and 22 May 2004 to persist until it loses its source of angular momentum or until near Orleans, NE. negatively buoyant outflow air surrounds the tornado and cuts Dual-Doppler syntheses of the three-dimensional wind field off the supply of positively buoyant environmental air to the are produced using an upward iterative calculation of the primary updraft. This choking of the updraft ends the contrac- mass continuity equation. Objective analysis of single-Doppler tion of near-surface angular momentum. data used in the wind syntheses are performed with a Barnes Data collected in a tornadic supercell by the Doppler on smoothing parameter and grid spacing as suggested by Pauley Wheels (DOW) radars have shown the presence of multiple and Wu (1990), Koch et al. (1983), and Trapp and Doswell rear-flank gust fronts occurring simultaneously, with a wind (2000). A two-pass smoothing was performed, with gamma shift line visible in the outflow air behind a preceding rear-flank equal to 0.3 (Majcen et al. 2008). The Barnes response func- gust front (Wurman et al. 2007). At least one numerical sim- tion for each case has a value of 0.65 or greater for spatial scales ulation also produced this dual gust front structure (Adlerman of 1km, and > 0.95 for scales larger than 2 km; therefore, gust 2003). In addition, mobile mesonet observations have indicated front features are well resolved, and the scales associated with the presence of secondary surface wind shifts behind the main the tornado cyclone are marginally resolved. ∗Corresponding author address: James Marquis, Department of Analyses based on data assimilation of single-Doppler DOW Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, 503 Walker Building, radial velocity observations are used to examine multiple gust University Park, PA 16802; e-mail: [email protected]. front structures in the 5 June 2001 case. The assimilations are 30 Apr 2000 dual-Doppler 22 May 2004 dual-Doppler 1010 a) 6 b) primary RFGF 8 8 primary RFGF 4 6 6 4 4 ) 2 ) m m k k ( ( 2 2 Y Y 0 0 0 -22 -2 second RFGF Vzmax-rel second RFGF -44 -4 z = 300 m z = 300 m 6 10 -88 -66 -44 -2 2 0 2 4 6 z -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 X (km) X (km) -2 Convergence x10 s- 1 Convergence x10- 2 s- 1 -1.2 -0.6 0 0.6 1.2 -1.5 -0.5 0 0.5 1.5 5 Jun 2001 data assim 45 c) 40 35 15 5 Jun 2001 data assim d) 30 ) m 10 k ) ( 25 m Y k ( primary RFGF Z 5 20 second RFGF second RFGF 15 0 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 X (km) 10 primary RFGF z = 530 m 5 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 X (km) W (m/s) -3 -1 1 3 FIG. 1. a) Dual-Doppler convergence (shaded), positive vertical vorticity (contoured), and horizontal wind relative to the vorticity maximum (vectors) in the x-y plane at z = 300 m AGL and 2108 UTC on 30 April 2000. b) Same as a) but at 2304 UTC on 22 May 2004. c) Ensemble mean: vertical motion (shaded), positive vertical vorticity (contoured), and storm-relative horizontal winds (vectors) in an x-y plane at z = 530 m AGL and 0036 UTC on 5 June 2001 produced by assimilation of DOW3 velocities into the WRF model with the ensemble Kalman filter method. d) An x-z cross section along the gray dashed line in c). Primary and secondary gust fronts are illustrated with bold black lines in each panel. Wind vectors are valid for the grid location at the end of their tails. Conv 22 May 2004 230132 utc 230417 utc 230839 utc x 0.01 1/s 6 z primary R FG F Vzmax-rel 1.5 4 2 0.5 0 0 -2 -0.5 primary R FG F -4 second R FG F -1.5 second R FG F primary R FG F second R FG F -6 z = 300 m AGL z = 300 m AGL z = 300 m AGL -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 FIG. 2. Dual-Doppler convergence (shaded), positive vertical vorticity (contoured), and horizontal wind relative to the vorticity maximum (vectors) in the x-y plane at z = 300 m AGL and a) 230132, b) 230417, and c) 230839 UTC on 22 May 2004. Primary and secondary gust fronts are illustrated with bold black lines in each panel. Wind vectors are valid for the grid location at the end of their tails. performed via the ensemble Kalman filter technique (e.g. Sny- qr (K) der and Zhang 2003) using the WRF cloud model. Gaussian 45 312 noise is added to the horizontal wind vectors, temperature, and w dew point temperature every five minutes in order to maintain 40 310 ensemble spread throughout the experiment run time (Dowell Vort max and Wicker 2008). 35 308 30 x m 3. Kinematics k 25 306 Multiple gust front configurations are observed with the DOW 20 304 radars (Fig.1), with each case showing a prominent low-level secondary rfgf 15 convergence (or w > 0 as in Fig.1c) band encircling the vor- primary rfgf ticity maximum and leading an area of low-level divergence 302 10 (or w < 0). The position and shape of this easternmost con- z = 400 m agl 300 vergence band is consistent with the presence of a rear-flank 5 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 gust front boundary (hereafter RFGF) that is commonly found km at the interface between environmental inflow and storm out- flow (hereafter primary RFGF). Also found in each example is a secondary convergence band in the divergent and/or descend- FIG. 3. Ensemble mean: vertical motion (w = 1, 3, 5, 7 m/s contours), ing outflow air behind the primary RFGF. These secondary density potential temperature (shaded), and storm-relative horizontal winds (vectors) in an x-y plane at z = 400 m AGL and 0036 UTC on 5 bands, termed here secondary RFGFs, spiral outward cycloni- June 2001 produced by assimilation of DOW3 velocities into the WRF cally (southward) from a point near the surface vorticity max- model with the ensemble Kalman filter method. Primary and secondary imum, in accordance with the highly curved gusting outflow gust fronts are illustrated with bold orange lines. Wind vectors are valid winds south-southwest of the tornado.
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