Together with a powerful analysis technique pioneered by NCAR scientist Wen-Chau Lee, the radar--newly enhanced for its first full spring of thunderstorm tracking--promises the most complete picture to date of tornado evolution.
The radar is being deployed this spring, along with another DOW unit, by NCAR scientific visitor Joshua Wurman (Center for Severe Weather Research, or CSWR) from a temporary base in Hays, Kansas.
Most Doppler radars transmit only a single beam, which takes about 5 minutes to make the vertical and horizontal scans needed for a three-dimensional storm portrait. But tornadoes can develop or dissipate in a minute or less. With its 5- to 10-second resolution and close range, the Rapid-Scan DOW can detail these critical steps in tornado behavior.
"The development of the Rapid-Scan DOW is an important advancement for meteorological research," said Steve Nelson, director of NSF'
The first DOW was deployed in 1995. Since then, Wurman'
As part of a $1.6 million NSF grant, Wurman and Curtis Alexander (University of Oklahoma) are analyzing the entire DOW data set on tornadoes to uncover new information, such as how closely tornado diameters are correlated with top wind speeds. Other scientists at OU and Pennsylvania State University will also carry out DOW analyses through the grant.
"We can'
Wurman and Lee plan to select a few tornadoes for more in-depth study. They'
The structure found in the Mulhall tornado had been observed for many years in lab experiments and computer models, but it had never been verified by radar data. Lee expects to find a simpler structure in weak tornadoes, without the central downdraft observed in Mulhall.
"We want to use DOW data to analyze more tornadoes of different sizes and intensities and see how they compare to our laboratory work and our model results," Lee says.
Dubbed ROTATE-05, the field work is supported by the National Geographic Society. Design and construction of the Rapid-Scan DOW is funded by the National Science Foundation, which is also NCAR'
Opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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