Motivation

The paucity of mesoscale observations of tornadic environments and storm-scale processes of potentially tornadic storms in the SE U.S. has hindered the understanding of regional influences on tornadogenesis. The NOAA-funded VORTEX-SE (VSE) project conducted field operations in early spring 2016-2018 during which mobile and fixed radar, radiosonde, vertical profiler, aircraft, and other observations were collected to better understand the mesoscale variability and tornado threat unique to the SE U.S. There is a three-season database of specialized observations available to investigate critical environmental and storm-scale processes over a wide range of conditions thought to influence tornadogenesis in the complex terrain of the SE U.S.

The scientists at the DOW Facility have focused on addressing the following scientific objectives:

1. Characterization of environmental influences on downdraft processes occurring in potentially tornadic storms in the Southeast United States (Supported by NOAA Grant #NA160AR4590225)

2. Characterization of storm structure and storm environments through the integration, improvement and analysis of multi-platform radar data (Supported by NOAA Grant #NA18OAR4590314)