A study of tornadic thunderstorm interactions with thermal boundaries.

Abstract

A physical model of subcloud wind profiles near thermal boundaries has been developed and a number of cases have been analyzed. Within a hot, moist and conditionally unstable air mass, warm thermal advection and surface friction cause the winds to veer and increase with height. The spatial distribution of differing vertical wind profiles and moisture contents within the boundary layer may act in concert to maximize mesoscale moisture contents, convergence and cyclonic vorticity within a narrow mixing zone along the thermal boundary.- from AuthorsNOAA, Environmental Research Lab., Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry Lab., Boulder, CO 80303.