On the Relationship of Severe Weather to Radar Tops

Abstract

A study of the relationship between radar-reported storm tops above 9150 m, tropopause penetration and the type of severe weather is made. It is found that hailstorms generally extend 1000 m further into the stratosphere than windstorms and nearly 800 m further than tornadic storms. Although large variations are noted for different sections of the country, the tops of hailstorms are generally higher than for tornadic storms. Windstorms usually have the lowest tops. In contrast, the tropopause associated with hailstorms is lower than that with windstorms. The tropopause for tornadic storms usually lies between the values for the other two types of severe weather. However, only 19% of the thunderstorms with tops of 15 000 m or more and with a tropopause penetration of at least 1500 m are associated with severe weather reports.