On the rotation and propagation of simulated supercell thunderstorms.

Abstract

We examine the rotation and propagation of the supercell-like convection produced by our three-dimensional cloud model. The rotation in the supercell is studied in terms of the conservation of equivalent potential vorticity and V. Bjerknes' first circulation theorem. Using these we amplify the findings of our previous work in which we found that the source of midlevel rotation is the horizontally oriented vorticity associated with the environmental shear, while the low-level rotation derives from the baroclinic generation of horizontally oriented vorticity along the low-level cold-air boundary. -from Authors