Using Ensemble Sensitivity Analysis to Identify Storm Characteristics Associated with Tornadogenesis in High-Resolution Simulated Supercells

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to objectively identify storm-scale characteristics associated with tornado-like vortex (TLV) formation in an ensemble of high-resolution supercell simulations. An ensemble of 51 supercells is created using Cloud Model version 1 (CM1). The first member is initialized using a base state populated by the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) proximity sounding near El Reno, Oklahoma, on 24 May 2011. The other 50 ensemble members are created by randomly perturbing the base state after a supercell has formed. There is considerable spread between ensemble members, with some supercells producing strong, long-lived TLVs, while others do not produce a TLV at all. The ensemble is analyzed using the ensemble sensitivity analysis (ESA) technique, uncovering storm-scale characteristics that are dynamically relevant to TLV formation. In the rear flank, divergence at the surface southeast of the TLV helps converge and contract existing vertical vorticity, but there is no meaningful sensitivity to rear-flank outflow temperature. In the forward flank, warm temperatures within the cold pool are important to TLV production and magnitude. The longitudinal positioning of strong streamwise vorticity is also a clear indicator of TLV formation and strength, especially within 5 min of when the TLV is measured. Significance Statement Tornadoes that form in supercell thunderstorms (long-lived storms with a rotating updraft) are heavily influenced by the features created by the storm itself, such as the temperature of a downdraft. In this study, many different iterations of a strong supercell thunderstorm are simulated, in which tornado-like features are formed at different times with widely different strengths. A statistical method is used to identify what the storms had in common when they produced a tornado-like feature, and what they had in common when one failed to form. This study is important because it highlights which storm features are most influential to tornado formation using an objective method, with results that can be used when observing supercells in the field.