Observations of a Severe, Left-Moving Supercell on 4 May 2003

Lindsey, Daniel T.; Bunkers, Matthew J.

doi:10.1175/waf-830.1

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Given the importance of storm mergers in modulating convective evolution, this information was noted for both the long-and short-lived supercell events. These mergers can be either destructive or reinforcing (e.g., Lindsey and Bunkers 2005). To eliminate the smallest "feeder" cells (Browning 1977) from consideration, a merger between a supercell and another storm (i.e., the blending of the storm cores) was only documented if the reflectivity of the second storm was Ͼ35 dBZ.…”

Section: Properties Recorded For the Supercell Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Observational Examination of Long-Lived Supercells. Part I: Characteristics, Evolution, and Demise

Bunkers

Hjelmfelt

Smith

2006

Weather and Forecasting

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Observations of supercells and their longevity across the central and eastern United States are examined, with the primary focus on understanding the properties of long-lived supercells (defined as supercells lasting ≥4 h). A total of 224 long-lived supercells, occurring in 184 separate events, are investigated. These properties are compared with those of short-lived supercells (lifetimes ≤2 h) to determine the salient differences between the two classifications. A key finding is that long-lived supercells are considerably more isolated and discrete than short-lived supercells; as a result, the demise of a long-lived supercell (i.e., the end of the supercell phase) is often signaled by a weakening of the storm’s circulation and/or a rapid dissipation of the thunderstorm. In contrast, short-lived supercells commonly experience a demise linked to storm mergers and convective transitions (e.g., evolution to a bow echo). Also noteworthy, 36% of the long-lived supercell events were associated with strong or violent tornadoes (F2–F5), compared with only 8% for the short-lived supercell events. Evolutionary characteristics of long-lived supercells vary geographically across the United States, with the largest contrasts between the north-central United States and the Southeast. For example, 86% of the long-lived supercells across the north-central United States were isolated for most of their lifetime, whereas only 35% of those in the Southeast displayed this characteristic. Not surprisingly, the convective mode was discrete for 70% of the long-lived supercell events across the north-central United States, compared with 39% for the Southeast.

show abstract

Section: Properties Recorded For the Supercell Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Observational Examination of Long-Lived Supercells. Part I: Characteristics, Evolution, and Demise

Bunkers

Hjelmfelt

Smith

2006

Weather and Forecasting

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…When, in the Northern Hemisphere, the wind shear vector rotates clockwise with height, the right-moving storm is favored, and if the wind shear vector rotates counter clockwise, the left-moving storm is favored. In the typical supercells, developing in the Northern Hemisphere, which usually are right-moving, the rotation is mesocyclonic, while in the rare left-moving supercells the rotation is mesoanticyclonic (e.g., House et al, 1993;Nielsen-Gammon and Read, 1995;Lindsey and Bunkers, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Severe convective supercell outbreak over western Bulgaria on July 8, 2014

Bocheva¹,

Dimitrova²,

Penchev³

et al. 2018

Időjárás

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract⎯ Bulgaria is situated in a geographical area with high frequency and intensity of thunderstorms and hail events. Like in many other countries, an upward trend of weatherinduced damage has been observed during the last 15 years in Bulgaria. Much of it was caused by extreme weather events such as torrential precipitation associated with severe thunderstorms or/and wind storms. The series of flash floods and extreme hail storms, which hit Bulgaria in the warm half of 2014, were in line with that trend.On July 8, 2014, three supercell storms developed over West Bulgaria and heavily impacted urban areas in the afternoon. The extremely strong hail storms over Sofia and Montana were accompanied by strong wind gusts (about 85 km h -1 ) and torrential rain. The giant hail stones in Sofia had diameter of up to 10 cm and irregular shape. The severe hail and rain, and very strong wind caused substantial damage to infrastructure, buildings, vehicles, and agriculture. More than 40 people were injured by hail stones or collaterally by broken windows. One man was killed by a fallen tree. In Sofia alone, the reported damage was worth more than 100 million euro according to data from insurance companies.The paper presents the analysis of the evolution of the convective clouds based on radar data. The Doppler radar data revealed the existence of a mesocyclone, mesoanticyclone, microburst, and three-body scatter signature. The cloud top reached up to 17 km, and the maximum radar reflectivity factor was 69-71 dBZ. Analysis of the available radiosounding data, simulation with a numerical model, and the synoptic patterns are also presented.

show abstract

“…A few studies have shown that continuous mergers play a crucial role in the process in which storm cells strengthen to form a supercell storm and that cell mergers and interactions may prompt tornadogenesis [15][16][17][18]. Some investigations also show that storm mergers may disrupt an ongoing tornado [13], or appear to slow or cease the tornado's production [19]. Furthermore, a number of observational studies have investigated the relationship between storm mergers and the formation, development, and dissipation of a tornado [11,13,[18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some investigations also show that storm mergers may disrupt an ongoing tornado [13], or appear to slow or cease the tornado's production [19]. Furthermore, a number of observational studies have investigated the relationship between storm mergers and the formation, development, and dissipation of a tornado [11,13,[18][19][20]. Based on radar observations from non-tornadic storms in Illinois, Westcott and Kennedy (1989) described two storm merger types [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual-Polarization Radar Observations of the Evolution of a Supercell Tornado and Analysis of the Echo Mechanisms

Bin

Wei

2022

Atmosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To gain a deeper understanding of the structural and evolutionary characteristics of supercell tornadoes that occurred in eastern China on 14 May 2021, observations from the S-band dual-polarization radars, soundings and other instruments are used to investigate the evolutionary process of the tornado formation by the mergering and strengthening of supercell storms. The results are described as follows. The updraft by upper divergence and vertical thermal instability induced by the cold source at the tropopause provided the environmental conditions suitable for tornado formation. The tornado event involved three storm merger processes, each of which was associated with an increase in the echo intensity, vertical rising speed, and vertical vorticity of the supercell. Furthermore, during the last merger, the merging of the two vortices resulted in the reduction of the rotation radius of the new vortex, which also provided a favorable condition for tornadogenesis. A schematic was proposed to describe storm mergers. The characteristics of the velocity spectrum width were indicative of the occurrence and evolution of the tornado in this case. During the tornado stage, distinct polarimetric variable signatures (e.g., a tornado debris signature and a differential reflectivity arc) and radial velocity signatures (i.e., a tornadic vortex signature) were observed.

show abstract

Observations of a Severe, Left-Moving Supercell on 4 May 2003

Cited by 12 publications

References 16 publications

An Observational Examination of Long-Lived Supercells. Part I: Characteristics, Evolution, and Demise

An Observational Examination of Long-Lived Supercells. Part I: Characteristics, Evolution, and Demise

Severe convective supercell outbreak over western Bulgaria on July 8, 2014

Dual-Polarization Radar Observations of the Evolution of a Supercell Tornado and Analysis of the Echo Mechanisms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About