Open AccessThe Storm‐Structure‐Severity method for the identification of convective storm characteristics with conventional weather radar
Author(s) -
Visser Petrus J M
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
meteorological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1469-8080
pISSN - 1350-4827
DOI - 10.1017/s1350482701001013
Subject(s) - convective storm detection , tornado , storm , radar , nowcasting , meteorology , severe weather , convection , thunderstorm , mesocyclone , weather radar , environmental science , remote sensing , geology , computer science , doppler radar , geography , telecommunications
Radar reflectivity information is often displayed in two dimensions, making it difficult to extract the structural characteristics of convective storms. The maximum radar reflectivity and the vertical profile of liquid water distribution in a vertical column of a convective cell is used to determine a structural and intensity classification of the cell. The application of this Storm‐Structure‐Severity classification is demonstrated by investigating a tornado event on 15 November 1998 in Harrismith, South Africa, by using volume‐scanned reflectivity data from the S‐band MRL‐5 radar. The regions of convective development, decay and mesocyclone evolution are identified with this classification. The method is able to extract the three‐dimensional structural information of convective storms embedded in volume‐scanned reflectivity data and present it in a simple display format. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society