Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Atmospheric and Earth Science
Committee Chair
Lawrence Carey
Committee Member
Xiaomin Chen
Research Advisor
Kevin Knupp
Subject(s)
Cyclones--Tropics, Tornadoes, Wind shear, Tropical meteorology, Doppler radar
Abstract
On 20 August 2008, the MAX radar was deployed southeast of the Jacksonville, FL WSR-88D radar to monitor the boundary layer before, during, and after the landfall of TS Fay. During the 57-hour deployment, MAX sampled around a tornadic rainband that produced at least one confirmed tornado. To illustrate TCBL changes across a coastal zone, VAD profiles from MAX and KJAX are compared, and a dual- Doppler analysis is performed. One key finding from the DDA was the consistent presence of southeasterly background flow, vertical vorticity, enhanced cyclonic shear zones, and minisupercells throughout the 1650-1725 UTC analysis period. The primary rainband separated stronger southeasterly flow (to the east) from weaker southeasterly flow (to the west). One key finding from the VAD was that the wind profile differences were greatest below 500 m AGL. SRH10−1000m was 35% greater at KJAX than at MAX due to longer hodographs produced by weaker low-level flow.
Recommended Citation
Seiler, Elizabeth M., "Utilizing ground-based radar analyses to investigate ocean-to-land differences in the tropical cyclone wind profile and their impacts on tornadogenesis" (2025). Theses. 798.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/798