Doppler radar observations of non‐occluding, cyclic vortex genesis within a long‐lived tornadic storm over southern England

Clark, Matthew R.

doi:10.1002/qj.924

Cited by 15 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Site investigation then found that a T1 tornado had travelled along the path of one of the radar-detected mesovortices (Brown and Meaden, 2011). Analysis of Doppler radar observations showed the ten tornadoes that occurred on 3 November 2009 were associated with two of the five mesovortices observed (Clark, 2012). More recently, with the upgraded radar network, it was possible to carry out a dual-Doppler analysis on a tornadic supercell observed on 7 May 2012 that spawned three separate tornadoes (two of T2 strength and another of T4) to the northeast of Oxford (Westbrook and Clark, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An updated tornado climatology for the UK: 1981-2010

Kirk

2014

Weather

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An updated tornado climatology for the UK: 1981-2010

Kirk

2014

Weather

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Although on a much smaller scale, signatures observed in the cloud and rainfall patterns and by surface observations resembled, in miniature, those documented in larger cyclonic systems that have produced much more significant wind damage. In addition, the location and scale of the damaging winds at the frontal wave tip as well as the Doppler radar signatures bore a striking similarity to events described by Clark (), suggesting that this was not an isolated case.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carbone, , ; Wakimoto and Wilson, ; Clark and Parker, ). The radar‐observed features in the present case are strikingly similar to another well‐documented event on 3 November 2009 (Clark, ). In that event, 10 confirmed tornadoes and other instances of localized wind damage occurred over southern England in association with a well‐defined, fast‐moving mesolow.…”

Section: Observational Datamentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Other authors, via observations, have similarly discovered miniaturized versions of larger scale systems in which many aspects of the larger scale features are replicated. For example, the configuration of the precipitation immediately surrounding the mesoscale vortex itself and the scale are very similar to those presented in figure 16(c) of Clark (). Indeed, the small horizontal scale of the zone of strongest winds (<50 km) is similar to that of extreme windstorm Xola (Pinto and Silva, ).…”

Section: Conceptual Modelmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Similarities include the rapid development of the mesolow along a pre‐existing frontal zone, the close proximity of an intrusion of dry, high PV air (e.g. see figures and 16 of Clark, ), the cyclonic‐convergent region near the mesolow centre, and the development of misoscale vortices along this shear zone during the period of rapid mesolow development. In the 3 November 2009 event, the association between misoscale vortices and tornadoes was well established by site investigations of the damage on the ground and comparison with available radar imagery.…”

Section: Observational Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Development of localized damaging wind gusts associated with a frontal wave and mesoscale vortex across south Wales on 18 May 2015

Young

Clark

2017

Meteorological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On 18 May 2015 there were reports of localized wind damage just north of Swansea in south Wales. Observations indicated the development of a mesoscale cyclonic circulation at the tip of a frontal wave which first formed just west of south Wales. This mesoscale circulation subsequently ran eastwards across south Wales around the time of the reported damage, accompanied by gale force gusts on its southern flank. The resulting system then evolved into a pronounced shallow cold frontal zone that propagated eastwards into southern England over the next few hours, bringing further gale force gusts. Observational data, including Doppler radar and 1 min surface observations, are combined to investigate the causes of this mesoscale circulation and synthesize the results into a conceptual model. The mesoscale development was found to share some of the characteristics of larger scale cyclonic systems that sometimes produce more widespread and sometimes severe wind-related impacts. Recognition of the precursor synoptic environment may enable identification of similar features which, combined with Doppler radar data, may assist nowcasting of small areas of damaging winds.

show abstract

Synoptic‐scale and mesoscale controls for tornadogenesis on cold fronts: A generalised measure of tornado risk and identification of synoptic types

Clark

Parker

2020

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environments of tornadic and non-tornadic narrow cold-frontal rain bands (NCFRs) are investigated using ERA-Interim reanalyses for a sample of 114 events over the United Kingdom and Ireland (44 tornadic). The results offer a practical tool for prediction of the likelihood of tornadoes in these potentially high-impact events. Of 22 analysed parameters, a bulk measure of shear vorticity, and the front-normal wind component on the cold side of the front, yield the best discrimination between event classes, showing significantly larger values in tornadic events. A generalised measure of tornado probability, p[TN], is obtained using the distribution of points within the two-dimensional parameter space defined by these parameters. Synoptic situations commonly associated with tornadic NCFRs are identified and conceptual models describing the large-scale evolution are developed. Most events are associated with developing secondary cyclones (i.e., frontal waves) along trailing cold fronts (≥54.5%), generally within west to southwesterly large-scale flow. Another significant class of event corresponds to situations where a strong mid-to upper-level jet streak cuts across the front within an amplifying large-scale flow pattern (upstream ridge building and downstream trough extension), generally within northwesterly flow (27.3%). In frontal waves, tornadoes occurred relatively early in the wave's development and just down-front of the wave centre, where rapid increases in p[TN] occurred as the wave amplified. In northwesterly flow cases, tornadoes occurred along a well-defined NCFR bulge close to where the mid-to upper-level jet streak and an associated positive potential-vorticity anomaly intersected the front. Analysis of a high-tornadic subset of tornadic events (NCFRs producing ≥7 tornadoes) revealed an even stronger association with frontal waves (72.2% of cases), suggesting that the highest-impact events are usually associated with secondary cyclogenesis. The possible relevance of identified environmental parameters to This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

show abstract

Doppler radar observations of non‐occluding, cyclic vortex genesis within a long‐lived tornadic storm over southern England

Cited by 15 publications

References 43 publications

An updated tornado climatology for the UK: 1981-2010

An updated tornado climatology for the UK: 1981-2010

Development of localized damaging wind gusts associated with a frontal wave and mesoscale vortex across south Wales on 18 May 2015

Synoptic‐scale and mesoscale controls for tornadogenesis on cold fronts: A generalised measure of tornado risk and identification of synoptic types

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About