Leanne Blind-Doskocil's Presentation:
Characteristics of Tornadic and Nontornadic QLCS Mesovortices during PERiLS
Eddie Wolff's Presentation:
Examining the role of deep convective updrafts in QLCS tornadogenesis using observations and real-world modeling
Tornadoes that form from quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs) are especially difficult to predict and identify, leading to lower situational awareness and shorter warning lead times. QLCS tornadoes are especially prevalent in the Southeast United States and societal factors within this region make these tornadic QLCSs especially devastating to the communities they impact. It is hypothesized that severe (either tornadic or damaging wind-producing) circulations that strengthen rapidly tend to be associated with deep convective updrafts. To address this hypothesis, local storm reports and storm surveys during the second Intensive Observing Period of the 2022 Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms (PERiLS) field campaign are used to identify low-level circulations within QLCSs that are tornadic or damaging wind-producing. These circulations are then compared to upper-tropospheric features, such as overshooting tops (OTs), which are calculated with an OT identification algorithm using 1-minute resolution mesoscale sector data from the GOES-16 satellite, as well as strong updrafts, identified with multi-radar multi-sensor (MRMS) 3D mosaic reflectivity products. While the formation of OTs appears to be limited due to dependence on environmental characteristics, such as CAPE, strong updrafts identified by radar appear consistently with tornadic circulations at the surface. A real-world Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation is also utilized to explore the connection between these updrafts and the vortexgenesis process. The identification of updraft and tornadogenesis signatures within high-resolution geostationary satellite and MRMS data may ultimately help improve the nowcasting of damaging QLCSs.
