ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TORNADOES AND 500-MB. INDICATORS OF JET STREAMS

Abstract

Many studies of tornado-severe local storms outbreaks have called attention to the role of the jet stream. In fact, the jet has become an accepted part of a climatological model for tornado occurrences in the central and southern Plains. This study undertakes to verify this acceptance by statistically testing the association between 500-mb. indications of the midlatitude and subtropical jet streams and tornado days in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The results presented here indicate that indeed the two jet streams are associated with tornadoes. Further, the results are interpreted to show important spatial variations in the relative influence of the two jet streams.