NOTE: The references have been updated from the original to include page nos. for "in press&... more NOTE: The references have been updated from the original to include page nos. for "in press" articles and to make some minor corrections. There may be some slight variances between this text and the paper as it appeared. If errors are found or you wish to pass on comments, the
On 24 May 2011, 12 tornadoes impacted different parts of the state of Oklahoma. Three of these to... more On 24 May 2011, 12 tornadoes impacted different parts of the state of Oklahoma. Three of these tornadoes were violent and impacted the greater Oklahoma City-metro area. The highlight of the event was the low death toll given the violent tornadoes proximity to dense populations. Damage surveys following the event revealed a number of stories from impacted citizens of a heightened awareness to the weather, even with limited information of the on-going threat. This presentation will provide an overview of the event, the proceeding damage surveys, stories from impacted citizens and other highlights of the event, including collection of mobile radar data on two of the day's tornadoes.
... L. Spencer, JT Johnson, Michael D. Eilts, Kevin W. Thomas, Donald W. Burgess, 1998: The Natio... more ... L. Spencer, JT Johnson, Michael D. Eilts, Kevin W. Thomas, Donald W. Burgess, 1998: The National Severe Storms Laboratory Mesocyclone Detection Algorithm for the WSR-88D*. Wea. Forecasting, 13, 304326. doi: 10.1175/1520-0434(1998)013<0304:TNSSLM>2.0.CO;2. ...
Polarimetric radars are shown to be capable of tornado detection through the recognition of torna... more Polarimetric radars are shown to be capable of tornado detection through the recognition of tornadic debris signatures that are characterized by the anomalously low cross-correlation coefficient ρhv and differential reflectivity ZDR. This capability is demonstrated for three significant tornadic storms that struck the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, metropolitan area. The first tornadic debris signature, based on the measurements with the National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Cimarron polarimetric radar, was reported for a storm on 3 May 1999. Similar signatures were identified for two significant tornadic events during the Joint Polarization Experiment (JPOLE) in May 2003. The data from these storms were collected with a polarimetric prototype of the Next-Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD). In addition to a small-scale debris signature, larger-scale polarimetric signatures that might be relevant to tornadogenesis were persistently observed in tornadic supercells. The latter signatures are li...
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2003
The first World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Forecast Demonstration Project (FDP), with a fo... more The first World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Forecast Demonstration Project (FDP), with a focus on nowcasting, was conducted in Sydney, Australia, from 4 September to 21 November 2000 during a period associated with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Through international collaboration, nine nowcasting systems from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia were deployed at the Sydney Office of the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to demonstrate the capability of modern forecast systems and to quantify the associated benefits in the delivery of a real-time nowcast service. On-going verification and impact studies supported by international committees assisted by the WWRP formed an integral part of this project. A description is given of the project, including component systems, the weather, and initial outcomes. Initial results show that the nowcasting systems tested were transferable and able to provide valuable information enhancing BOM nowcasts. The project provided for...
The use of radar to diagnose thunderstorm structure and evolution has been going on since the bir... more The use of radar to diagnose thunderstorm structure and evolution has been going on since the birth of weather radar during and just after World War II. In
Several severe thunderstorms, including a tornadic supercell, developed on the afternoon of 3 Nov... more Several severe thunderstorms, including a tornadic supercell, developed on the afternoon of 3 November 2000, during the Sydney 2000 Forecast Demonstration Project. Severe weather included three tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, hail to 7-cm diameter, and heavy rain causing flash flooding. A unique dataset was collected including data from two Doppler radars, a surface mesonet, enhanced upper-air profiling, storm photography, and a storm damage survey. Synoptic-scale forcing was weak and mesoscale factors were central to the development of severe weather. In particular, low-level boundaries such as gust fronts and the sea-breeze front played critical roles in the initiation and enhancement of storms, the motion of storms, and the generation of rotation at low levels. The complex and often subtle boundary interactions that led to the development of the tornadic supercell in this case highlight the need for advanced detection and prediction tools to improve the warning capacity for such ...
In recent years, polarimetric radars have been shown to provide improved discrimination between m... more In recent years, polarimetric radars have been shown to provide improved discrimination between meteorological and nonmeteorological radar echoes (Zrnic and Ryzhkov 1999, Vivekanandan et al. 1999). As demonstrated by Ryzhkov et al. (2002), this can include the detection of tornadic debris signatures. It is natural to assume that tornadic debris is composed of more or less randomly oriented particles with very irregular shapes and a refractive index different from that of hydrometeors, thereby producing much different signatures than hydrometeors. Randomly oriented scatterers are characterized by differential reflectivity ZDR equal to zero. If large debris scatterers are not chaotically oriented and possess some degree of common orientation, then their ZDR might be both positive and negative depending on their size and the mean canting angle. Linear depolarization ratio LDR and cross-correlation coefficient ρhv of tornadic debris should also be quite different from signatures associa...
The NOAA (NSSL) X-band dual-Polarized (NOXP) and three CSWR Doppler on Wheels (DOW5, DOW6, and DO... more The NOAA (NSSL) X-band dual-Polarized (NOXP) and three CSWR Doppler on Wheels (DOW5, DOW6, and DOW7) mobile radars scanned the second of two supercells on 7 June 2010 (see Figure 1 for locations). The two supercells on this day occurred during the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment, Part 2 (VORTEX2) field project (for more background information see Wurman et al. 2012). NOXP first deployed near Lyman, NE at about 2330 Z and collected data on a supercell that produced a tornado north of Scottsbluff, NE. This first supercell weakened and moved too far east to sample, and a second supercell, behind the first, was targeted (Figure 2). NOXP deployed just west of Minatare and collected data on the second supercell from 0112 Z to 0128 Z at the NOXP1 location, as indicated in Figure 1.DOW6 deployed and collected data from 0104 Z to 0118 Z at the DOW6 location marked on Figure 1. This is the only DOW data that has been analyzed thus far. DualDoppler analysis of t...
NOTE: The references have been updated from the original to include page nos. for "in press&... more NOTE: The references have been updated from the original to include page nos. for "in press" articles and to make some minor corrections. There may be some slight variances between this text and the paper as it appeared. If errors are found or you wish to pass on comments, the
On 24 May 2011, 12 tornadoes impacted different parts of the state of Oklahoma. Three of these to... more On 24 May 2011, 12 tornadoes impacted different parts of the state of Oklahoma. Three of these tornadoes were violent and impacted the greater Oklahoma City-metro area. The highlight of the event was the low death toll given the violent tornadoes proximity to dense populations. Damage surveys following the event revealed a number of stories from impacted citizens of a heightened awareness to the weather, even with limited information of the on-going threat. This presentation will provide an overview of the event, the proceeding damage surveys, stories from impacted citizens and other highlights of the event, including collection of mobile radar data on two of the day's tornadoes.
... L. Spencer, JT Johnson, Michael D. Eilts, Kevin W. Thomas, Donald W. Burgess, 1998: The Natio... more ... L. Spencer, JT Johnson, Michael D. Eilts, Kevin W. Thomas, Donald W. Burgess, 1998: The National Severe Storms Laboratory Mesocyclone Detection Algorithm for the WSR-88D*. Wea. Forecasting, 13, 304326. doi: 10.1175/1520-0434(1998)013<0304:TNSSLM>2.0.CO;2. ...
Polarimetric radars are shown to be capable of tornado detection through the recognition of torna... more Polarimetric radars are shown to be capable of tornado detection through the recognition of tornadic debris signatures that are characterized by the anomalously low cross-correlation coefficient ρhv and differential reflectivity ZDR. This capability is demonstrated for three significant tornadic storms that struck the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, metropolitan area. The first tornadic debris signature, based on the measurements with the National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Cimarron polarimetric radar, was reported for a storm on 3 May 1999. Similar signatures were identified for two significant tornadic events during the Joint Polarization Experiment (JPOLE) in May 2003. The data from these storms were collected with a polarimetric prototype of the Next-Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD). In addition to a small-scale debris signature, larger-scale polarimetric signatures that might be relevant to tornadogenesis were persistently observed in tornadic supercells. The latter signatures are li...
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2003
The first World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Forecast Demonstration Project (FDP), with a fo... more The first World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Forecast Demonstration Project (FDP), with a focus on nowcasting, was conducted in Sydney, Australia, from 4 September to 21 November 2000 during a period associated with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Through international collaboration, nine nowcasting systems from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia were deployed at the Sydney Office of the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to demonstrate the capability of modern forecast systems and to quantify the associated benefits in the delivery of a real-time nowcast service. On-going verification and impact studies supported by international committees assisted by the WWRP formed an integral part of this project. A description is given of the project, including component systems, the weather, and initial outcomes. Initial results show that the nowcasting systems tested were transferable and able to provide valuable information enhancing BOM nowcasts. The project provided for...
The use of radar to diagnose thunderstorm structure and evolution has been going on since the bir... more The use of radar to diagnose thunderstorm structure and evolution has been going on since the birth of weather radar during and just after World War II. In
Several severe thunderstorms, including a tornadic supercell, developed on the afternoon of 3 Nov... more Several severe thunderstorms, including a tornadic supercell, developed on the afternoon of 3 November 2000, during the Sydney 2000 Forecast Demonstration Project. Severe weather included three tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, hail to 7-cm diameter, and heavy rain causing flash flooding. A unique dataset was collected including data from two Doppler radars, a surface mesonet, enhanced upper-air profiling, storm photography, and a storm damage survey. Synoptic-scale forcing was weak and mesoscale factors were central to the development of severe weather. In particular, low-level boundaries such as gust fronts and the sea-breeze front played critical roles in the initiation and enhancement of storms, the motion of storms, and the generation of rotation at low levels. The complex and often subtle boundary interactions that led to the development of the tornadic supercell in this case highlight the need for advanced detection and prediction tools to improve the warning capacity for such ...
In recent years, polarimetric radars have been shown to provide improved discrimination between m... more In recent years, polarimetric radars have been shown to provide improved discrimination between meteorological and nonmeteorological radar echoes (Zrnic and Ryzhkov 1999, Vivekanandan et al. 1999). As demonstrated by Ryzhkov et al. (2002), this can include the detection of tornadic debris signatures. It is natural to assume that tornadic debris is composed of more or less randomly oriented particles with very irregular shapes and a refractive index different from that of hydrometeors, thereby producing much different signatures than hydrometeors. Randomly oriented scatterers are characterized by differential reflectivity ZDR equal to zero. If large debris scatterers are not chaotically oriented and possess some degree of common orientation, then their ZDR might be both positive and negative depending on their size and the mean canting angle. Linear depolarization ratio LDR and cross-correlation coefficient ρhv of tornadic debris should also be quite different from signatures associa...
The NOAA (NSSL) X-band dual-Polarized (NOXP) and three CSWR Doppler on Wheels (DOW5, DOW6, and DO... more The NOAA (NSSL) X-band dual-Polarized (NOXP) and three CSWR Doppler on Wheels (DOW5, DOW6, and DOW7) mobile radars scanned the second of two supercells on 7 June 2010 (see Figure 1 for locations). The two supercells on this day occurred during the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment, Part 2 (VORTEX2) field project (for more background information see Wurman et al. 2012). NOXP first deployed near Lyman, NE at about 2330 Z and collected data on a supercell that produced a tornado north of Scottsbluff, NE. This first supercell weakened and moved too far east to sample, and a second supercell, behind the first, was targeted (Figure 2). NOXP deployed just west of Minatare and collected data on the second supercell from 0112 Z to 0128 Z at the NOXP1 location, as indicated in Figure 1.DOW6 deployed and collected data from 0104 Z to 0118 Z at the DOW6 location marked on Figure 1. This is the only DOW data that has been analyzed thus far. DualDoppler analysis of t...
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