Low-Level Polarimetric Radar Signatures in EnKF Analyses and Forecasts of the May 8, 2003 Oklahoma City Tornadic Supercell: Impact of Multimoment Microphysics and Comparisons with Observation

The impact of increasing the number of predicted moments in a multimoment bulk microphysics scheme is investigated using ensemble Kalman filter analyses and forecasts of the May 8, 2003 Oklahoma City tornadic supercell storm and the analyses are validated using dual-polarization radar observations....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daniel T. Dawson II, Louis J. Wicker, Edward R. Mansell, Youngsun Jung, Ming Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Advances in Meteorology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/818394
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Summary:The impact of increasing the number of predicted moments in a multimoment bulk microphysics scheme is investigated using ensemble Kalman filter analyses and forecasts of the May 8, 2003 Oklahoma City tornadic supercell storm and the analyses are validated using dual-polarization radar observations. The triple-moment version of the microphysics scheme exhibits the best performance, relative to the single- and double-moment versions, in reproducing the low-ZDR hail core and high-ZDR arc, as well as an improved probabilistic track forecast of the mesocyclone. A comparison of the impact of the improved microphysical scheme on probabilistic forecasts of the mesocyclone track with the observed tornado track is also discussed.
ISSN:1687-9309
1687-9317