Applications of a Spatially Variable Advection Correction Technique for Temporal Correction of Dual-Doppler Analyses of Tornadic Supercells

In many instances, synchronization of Doppler radar data among multiple platforms for multiple-Doppler analysis is challenging. This study describes the production of dual-Doppler wind analyses from several case studies using data from a rapid-scanning, X-band, polarimetric, Doppler radar—the RaXPol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly weather review 2018-09, Vol.146 (9), p.2949-2971
Main Authors: Wienhoff, Zachary B., Bluestein, Howard B., Wicker, Louis J., Snyder, Jeffrey C., Shapiro, Alan, Potvin, Corey K., Houser, Jana B., Reif, Dylan W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advection
Case studies
Data
Data processing
Doppler radar
Doppler sonar
Radar
Radar data
Radar polarimetry
Reflectance
Resolution
Scanning
Storms
Supercells
Surveillance
Synchronism
Synchronization
Temporal resolution
Thunderstorms
Tornadoes
Tracking
Updraft
Wind
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Summary:In many instances, synchronization of Doppler radar data among multiple platforms for multiple-Doppler analysis is challenging. This study describes the production of dual-Doppler wind analyses from several case studies using data from a rapid-scanning, X-band, polarimetric, Doppler radar—the RaXPol radar—and data from nearby WSR-88Ds. Of particular interest is mitigating difficulties related to the drastic differences in scanning rates of the two radars. To account for differences in temporal resolution, a variational reflectivity tracking scheme [a spatially variable advection correction technique (SVAC)] has been employed to interpolate (in a Lagrangian sense) the coarser temporal resolution data (WSR-88D) to the times of the RaXPol volume scans. The RaXPol data and temporally interpolated WSR-88D data are then used to create quasi–rapid scan dual-Doppler analyses. This study focuses on the application of the SVAC technique to WSR-88D data to create dual-Doppler analyses of three tornadic supercells: the 19 May 2013 Edmond–Carney and Norman–Shawnee, Oklahoma, storms and the 24 May 2016 Dodge City, Kansas, storm. Results of the dual-Doppler analyses are briefly examined, including observations of the ZDR columns as a proxy for updrafts. Potential improvements to this technique are also discussed.
ISSN:0027-0644
1520-0493
DOI:10.1175/MWR-D-17-0360.1