Finescale Radar Observations of Tornado and Mesocyclone Structures

Abstract

Abstract A variety of vortex configurations observed at finescale with Doppler On Wheels (DOW) radars in and near the hook echoes of supercell thunderstorms are described. These include marginal/weak tornadoes, often with no documented condensation funnels, debris rings, or low-reflectivity eyes; multiple-vortex mesocyclones; multiple simultaneous tornadoes; satellite tornadoes; cyclonic–anticyclonic tornado pairs; multiple vortices within other multiple vortices; tornadoes with quasi-concentric multiple wind field maxima; lines of vortices outside tornadoes; and horizontal vortices. The kinematic structures of these different phenomena are documented and compared. The process of multiple vortex circulations evolving from and into tornadoes is documented. DOW observations suggest that there is no clear spatial-scale separation between multiple-vortex tornadoes and larger multiple-vortex circulations. These different vortex configurations motivate a refined definition of what constitutes a tornado, excluding many multiple, weak, embedded, and tornado-associated vortices.