Studies of Severe Convective Storms and Tornadoes Using Mobile Doppler Radar Data

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Severe thunderstorms and the tornadoes they spawn produce significant loss of life and property across the U.S. This research, which will support involvement of the lead investigator and his students in VORTEX2 (the Verification of the Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment, Phase 2) and follow-on analysis of data both previously and yet to be collected, will employ unique mobile X- and W-band Doppler radar measurements describing both tornadic and non-tornadic thunderstorms. Of special interest are polarimetric measurements made in supercells combined with rapid-scan (i.e., rapidly repeated) volumetric radar descriptions of tornadic supercells. The former will provide 3-D descriptions of hydrometeor distributions in these storms, which are necessary for a full understanding of storm thermodynamics and dynamics while the latter will illuminate rapidly evolving and recurrent storm features. Tandem numerical experiments will ingest these measurements into a state-of-the-art cloud model in order to obtain improved estimates of atmospheric variables not directly measured by radar (such as air temperature, moisture content and vertical velocity within storm updrafts/downdrafts). This project will also support collection and analysis of data from the first rapid-scan polarimetric X-band mobile Doppler radar utilized in the study of severe thunderstorms, whose development was previously supported by NSF.The Intellectual Merit of this work derives from obtaining a more complete understanding of severe thunderstorms, the tornadoes they produce, and detailed dynamical relationships between the two.Broader Impacts will be immediately realized through training of graduate students involved in data collection and analysis, and through the PI's involvement in undergraduate education and dissemination of result both through formal publications and various media outlets. Ultimately, this work may have societal benefits through improved numerical forecasts and more timely public warnings. Benefits will also accrue through critical evaluation and resulting improvement of cutting-edge mobile radar technologies.