The evolution of misoscale circulations in a downburst-producing storm and comparison to numerical resultsData from three NCAR radars are used in both single and dual Doppler analyses to trace the evolution of a June 30, 1982 Colorado convective storm containing downburst-type winds and strong vortices 1-2 km in diameter. The analyses show that a series of small circulations formed along a persistent cyclonic shear boundary; at times as many as three misocyclones were present with vertical vorticity values as large as 0.1/s using a 0.25 km grid interval. The strength of the circulations suggests the possibility of accompanying tornadoes or funnels, although none were observed. Dual-Doppler analyses show that strong, small-scale downdrafts develop in close proximity to the misocyclones. A midlevel mesocyclone formed in the same general region of the storm where the misocylones later developed. The observations are compared with numerical simulations from a three-dimensional cloud model initialized with sounding data from the same day.
Document ID
19860038173
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Kessinger, C. J. (National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Wilson, J. W. (National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Weisman, M. (National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Klemp, J. (National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)