Observations of the boundary layer near tornadoes and in supercells using a mobile, collocated, pulsed doppler lidar and radar

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

Volumn 31, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 302-325

  Bluestein, Howard B ^a   Houser, Jana B ^a   French, Michael M ^a,e   Snyder, Jeffrey C ^a   Emmitt, George D ^b   Popstefanija, Ivan ^c   Baldi, Chad ^c   Bluth, Robert T ^d  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA   (United States)

^b SIMPSON WEATHER ASSOCIATES   (United States)

^c ProSensing Inc   (United States)

^d NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL   (United States)

^e NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS LABORATORY   (United States)

Author keywords

Lidars Lidar observations; Radars Radar observations

Indexed keywords

EID: 84893942939     PISSN: 07390572     EISSN: 15200426     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00112.1     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. Banta, R. M., L. D. Olivier, and D. H. Levinson, 1993: Evolution of the Monterey Bay sea-breeze layer as observed by pulsed Doppler lidar. J. Atmos. Sci., 50, 3959-3982.
2. Banta, R. M., Y. L. Pichugina, and W. A. Brewer, 2006: Turbulent velocityvariance profiles in the stable boundary layer generated by a nocturnal low-level jet. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 2700-2719.
3. Bluestein, H. B., 2013: Severe Convective Storms and Tornadoes: Observations and Dynamics. Praxis/Springer, 456 pp.
4. Bluestein, H. B., M. M. French, R. L. Tanamachi, S. Frasier, K. Hardwick, F. Junyent, and A. L. Pazmany, 2007a: Close-range observations of tornadoes in supercells made with a dual-polarization, X-band, mobile Doppler radar. Mon. Wea. Rev., 135, 1522-1543.
5. Bluestein, H. B., C. C. Weiss, M. M. French, E. M. Holtaus, R. Tanamachi, S. Frasier, and A. L. Pazmany, 2007b: The structure of tornadoes near Attica, Kansas, on 12 May 2004: High-resolution, mobile, Doppler radar observations. Mon. Wea. Rev., 135, 475-506.
6. Bluestein, H. B., M. M. French, I. PopStefanija, R. T. Bluth, and J. B. Knorr, 2010: A mobile, phased-array Doppler radar for the study of severe convective storms: The MWR-05XP. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 91, 579-600.
7. Burgess, D. W., C. M. Schwarz, J. C. Snyder, M. M. French, H. B. Bluestein, and C. L. Ziegler, 2011: A cyclic tornadic supercell on 10 May 2010: Analysis of a VORTEX2 case. Preprints, 35th Conf. on Radar Meteorology, Pittsburgh, PA, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 8B.4. [Available online at https://ams.confex. com/ams/35Radar/webprogram/Manuscript/Paper191297/RDRConf35_May10_DWB.pdf.]
8. Burggraf, O. R., K. Stewartson, and R. Belcher, 1971: Boundary layer induced by a potential vortex. Phys. Fluids, 14, 1821-1833.
9. Crook, N. A., and M. L. Weisman, 1998: Comparison of supercell behavior in a convective boundary layer with that in a horizontally homogeneous environment. Preprints, 19th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Minneapolis, MN, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 253-256.
10. DeWekker, S. F. J., K. S. Godwin, G.D. Emmitt, and S. Greco, 2012: Airborne Doppler lidar measurements of valley flows in complex coastal terrain. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 51, 1558-1574.
11. Dowell, D. C., and H. B. Bluestein, 1997: The Arcadia, Oklahoma, storm of 17 May 1981: Analysis of a supercell during tornadogenesis. Mon. Wea. Rev., 125, 2562-2582.
12. Dowell, D. C., C. R. Alexander, J. M. Wurman, and L. J. Wicker, 2005: Centrifuging of hydrometeors and debris in tornadoes: Radarreflectivity patterns and wind-measurement errors. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 1501-1524.
13. Frehlich, R. G., 2001: Estimation of velocity error for Doppler lidar measurements. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 18, 1628-1639.
14. Frehlich, R. G., 2004: Velocity error for coherent Doppler lidar with pulse accumulation. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 21, 905-920.
15. French, M. M., H. B. Bluestein, I. PopStefanija, C. A. Baldi, and R. T. Bluth, 2013: Reexamining the vertical development of descending tornadic vortex signatures in supercells. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 4576-4601.
16. French, M. M., H. B. Bluestein, I. PopStefanija, C. Baldi, and R. T. Bluth, 2014: Mobile, phasedarray, Doppler radar observations of tornadoes at X band. Mon. Wea. Rev., in press.
17. Gal-Chen, T., and J. C. Wyngaard, 1982: Effects of volume averaging on the line spectra of vertical velocity from multiple-Doppler radar observations. J. Appl. Meteor., 21, 1881-1890.
18. Grams, J. S., R. L. Thompson, D. V. Snively, J. A. Prentice, G. M. Hodges, and L. J. Reames, 2012: A climatology and comparison of parameters for significant tornado events in the United States. Wea. Forecasting, 27, 106-123.
19. Grund, C. J., R. M. Banta, J. L. George, J. N. Howell, M. J. Post, R. A. Richter, and A. M. Weickmann, 2001: High-resolution Doppler lidar for boundary layer and cloud research. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 18, 376-393.
20. Hill, M., R. Calhoun, H. J. S. Fernando, A. Wieser, A. Dörnbrack, M. Weissmann, G. Mayr, and R. Newsom, 2010: Coplanar Doppler lidar retrieval of rotors from T-REX. J. Atmos. Sci., 67, 713-729.
21. Hirth, B. D., J. L. Schroeder, and C. C. Weiss, 2008: Surface analysis of the rear-flank downdraft outflow in two tornadic supercells. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 2344-2363.
22. Karstens, C. D., T. M. Samaras, B. D. Lee, W. A. Gallus Jr., and C. A. Finley, 2010: Near-ground pressure and wind measurements in tornadoes. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 2570-2588.
23. Kühnlein, C., A. Dörnbrack, and M. Weissmann, 2013: HighresolutionDoppler lidar observations of transient downslope flows and rotors. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3257-3272.
24. Lee, B. D., C. A. Finley, and T. M. Samaras, 2011: Surface analysis near and within the Tipton, Kansas, tornado on 29 May 2008. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 370-386.
25. Lee, B. D., C. A. Finley, and C. D. Karstens, 2012: The Bowdle, South Dakota, cyclic tornadic supercell of 22 May 2010: Surface analysis of rear-flank downdraft evolution and multiple internal surges. Mon. Wea. Rev., 140, 3419-3441.
26. Lehmiller, G.S., H.B. Bluestein, P.J. Neiman, F.M. Ralph, and W. F. Feltz, 2001: Wind structure in a supercell thunderstorm as measured by a UHF wind profiler. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 1968-1986.
27. Levinson, D. H., and R. M. Banta, 1995: Observations of a terrainforced mesoscale vortex and canyon drainage flows along the Front Range of Colorado. Mon. Wea. Rev., 123, 2029-2050.
28. Lewellen, D. C., W. S. Lewellen, and J. Xia, 2000: The influence of a local swirl ratio on tornado intensification near the surface. J. Atmos. Sci., 57, 527-544.
29. Marquis, J. N., Y. P. Richardson, and J. M. Wurman, 2007: Kinematic observations of misocyclones along boundaries during IHOP. Mon. Wea. Rev., 135, 1749-1768.
30. McCaul, E. W., Jr., and M. L. Weisman, 2001: The sensitivity of simulated supercell structure and intensity to variations in the shapes of environmental buoyancy and shear profiles. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 664-687.
31. McCaul, E. W., Jr., H. B. Bluestein, and R. J. Doviak, 1987: Doppler lidar observations of convective phenomena in Oklahoma. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 4, 479-497.
32. Neiman, P. J., R. M. Hardesty, M. S. Shapiro, and R. E. Cupp, 1988: Doppler lidar observations of a downslope windstorm. Mon. Wea. Rev., 116, 2265-2275.
33. Nowotarski, C. J., P. M. Markowski, Y. P. Richardson, and G. H. Bryan, 2012: The influence of horizontal convective rolls on the morphology of low-level rotation in idealized simulations of supercell thunderstorms. Preprints, 26th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Nashville, TN, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 11.B4. [Available online at https://ams.confex.com/ams/26SLS/webprogram/Paper211738.html.]
34. Oklahoma Mesonet, 2011: Mesonet Connection. Vol. 2, Issue 5, Oklahoma Mesonet, Norman, OK, 5 pp. [Available online at www.mesonet.org/mesonet_connection/v2i5.pdf.]
35. Parsons, D. B., M. A. Shapiro, R. M. Hardesty, R. J. Zamora, and J. M. Intrieri, 1991: The finescale structure of a west Texas dryline. Mon. Wea. Rev., 119, 1242-1258.
36. Pazmany, A. L., J. B. Mead, H. B. Bluestein, J. C. Snyder, and J. B. Houser, 2013: A mobile rapid-scanning X-band polarimetric (RaXPol) Doppler radar system. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 30, 1398-1413.
37. Pearson, G., F. Davies, and C. Collier, 2009: An analysis of the performance of theUFAMpulsed Doppler lidar for observing the boundary layer. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 26, 240-250.
38. Rothermel, J., C. Kessinger, and D. L. Davis, 1985: Dual-Doppler lidar measurements of winds in the JAWS experiment. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 2, 138-147.
39. Rotunno, R., 2013: The fluid dynamics of tornadoes. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 45, 59-84.
40. Schwiesow, R. L., R. E. Cupp, P. C. Sinclair, and R. F. Abbey Jr., 1981: Waterspout velocity measurements by airborne Doppler lidar. J. Appl. Meteor., 20, 341-348.
41. Skinner, P. S., C. C. Weiss, J. L. Schroeder, L. J. Wicker, and M. I. Biggerstaff, 2011: Observations of the surface boundary layer structure within the 23 May 2007 Perryton, Texas, supercell. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 3730-3749.
42. Tanamachi, R. L., H. B. Bluestein, M. Xue, W.-C. Lee, K. A. Orzel, S. J. Frasier, and R. M. Wakimoto, 2013a: Near-surface vortex structure in a tornado and in a sub-tornado-strength, convective-stormvortex observed by amobile, W-band radar during VORTEX2. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 3661-3690.
43. Tanamachi, R. L., L. J. Wicker, D. C. Dowell, H. B. Bluestein, D. T. Dawson II, and M. Xue, 2013b: EnKF assimilation of high-resolution, mobile Doppler radar data of the 4 May 2007 Greensburg, Kansas, supercell into a numerical cloud model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 625-648.
44. Weckwerth, T. M., J. W. Wilson, R. M. Wakimoto, and N. A. Crook, 1997: Horizontal convective rolls: Determining the environmental conditions supporting their existence and characteristics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 125, 505-526.
45. Weiss, C. C., H. B. Bluestein, and A. L. Pazmany, 2006: Finescale radar observations of the 22 May 2002 dryline during the International H2O Project (IHOP). Mon. Wea. Rev., 134, 273-293.
46. Weissmann, M. D., G. J. Mayr, and R. M. Banta, 2004: Observations of the temporal evolution and spatial structure of the gap flow in the Wipp Valley on 2 and 3 October 1999. Mon. Wea. Rev., 132, 2684-2697.
47. Wilson, J. W., G. B. Foote, N. A. Crook, J. C. Fankhauser, C. G. Wade, J. D. Tuttle, C. K. Mueller, and S. K. Krueger, 1992: The role of boundary-layer convergence zones and horizontal rolls in the initiation of thunderstorms: A case study. Mon. Wea. Rev., 120, 1785-1815.
48. Wilson, T., and R. Rotunno, 1986: Numerical simulation of a laminar end-wall vortex and boundary layer. Phys. Fluids, 29, 3993-4005.
49. Wurman, J., D. Dowell, Y. Richardson, P. Markowski, E. Rasmussen, D. Burgess, L. Wicker, and H. B. Bluestein, 2012: The Second Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment: VORTEX2. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 93, 1147-1170.
50. Wurman, J., K. Kosiba, and P. Robinson, 2013: In-situ, Doppler radar, and video observations of the interior structure of a tornado and wind-damage relationship. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 94, 835-846.