NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Comparisons Between Total Lightning Data, Mesocyclone Strength, and Storm Damage Associated with the Florida Tornado Outbreak of February 23, 1998During the early morning hours of February 23 1998, the worst tornado outbreak ever recorded occurred over the central Florida peninsula. At least 7 confirmed tornadoes, associated with 4 supercells, developed, with 3 of the tornadoes reaching F3 intensity. Many of the tornadoes where on the ground for tens of miles, uncommon for the state of Florida. A total of 42 people were killed, with over 250 people injured. During the outbreak, National Weather Service Melbourne, in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was collecting data from a unique lightning observing system called Lightning Imaging Sensor Data Applications Display (LISDAD, Boldi et.al., this conference). This system marries radar data collected from the KMLB WSR-88D, cloud to ground data collected from the National Lightning Detection Network, and total lightning data collected from NASKs Lightning Detection And Ranging system. This poster will display, concurrently, total lightning data (displayed in 1 minute increments), time/height storm relative velocity products from the KMLB WSR-88D, and damage information (tornado/hail/wind) from each of the supercell thunderstorms. The primary objective of this poster presentation is to observe how total lightning activity changes as the convective storm intensifies, and how the lightning activity changes with respect to mesocyclone strength (vortex stretching) and damaging weather on the ground.
Document ID
19990097321
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Hodanish, S
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Sharp, D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Williams, E.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Boldi, B.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Goodman, Steven J.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Raghavan, R.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Matlin, A.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Weber, M.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1998
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Meeting Information
Meeting: Severe Local Storm
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Country: United States
Start Date: September 14, 1998
End Date: September 18, 1998
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available