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Buoyancy and shear characteristics of hurricane-tornado environmentsThis study presents detailed composite profiles of temperature, moisture, and wind constructed for tornado environments in tropical cyclones that affected the U.S. between 1948 and 1986. Winds are composited in components radial and tangential to the tropical cyclone center at observation time. Guided by observed patterns of tornado occurrence, composites are constructed for a variety of different stratifications of the data, including proximity to tornadoes, position relative to the cyclone center, time of day, time after cyclone landfall, cyclone translation speed, and landfall location. The composites are also compared to composite soundings from Great Plains tornado environments. A variety of sounding parameters are examined to see which are most closely related to the tornado distribution patterns. Lower-tropospheric vertical shears are found to be stronger in the tropical cyclone tornado environments than on the Great Plains. Buoyancy for the tropical cyclone tornado cases is much smaller than that seen with Great Plains tornado events and exhibits a weak negative correlation with tornado outbreak severity.
Document ID
19910065550
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Mccaul, Eugene W., Jr.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL; NCAR, Boulder, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: Monthly Weather Review
Volume: 119
ISSN: 0027-0644
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Accession Number
91A50173
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS8-37135
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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