@article{4693a128150b42459314bbdf31477f66,
title = "The regulation of tornado intensity by updraft width",
abstract = "Strong to violent tornadoes cause a disproportionate amount of damage, in part because the width and length of a tornado damage track are correlated to tornado intensity (as now estimated through enhanced Fujita scale ratings). The tendency expressed in the observational record is that the most intense tornadoes are often the widest. Herein the authors explore the simple hypothesis that wide intense tornadoes should form more readily out of wide rotating updrafts. This hypothesis is based on an application of Kelvin's circulation theorem, which is used to argue that the large circulation associated with a wide intense tornado is more plausibly associated with a wide mesocyclone. Because a mesocyclone is, strictly speaking, a rotating updraft, the mesocyclone width should increase with increasing updraft width. A simple mathematical model that is quantified using observations of mesocyclones supports this hypothesis, as do idealized numerical simulations of supercellular thunderstorms.",
keywords = "Atmosphere, Cloud resolving models, Supercells, Tornadoes",
author = "Trapp, {Robert J.} and Marion, {Geoffrey R.} and Nesbitt, {Stephen W.}",
note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgments. This research was supported in part by the Department of Energy through Grant DE-SC0014101. GOES data were obtained from NOAA CLASS. We are greatly appreciative of the availability of CM1, which was developed and is maintained by Dr. George Bryan. We also thank Dr. Nathan Dahl, Dr. Matt Parker, and the two anonymous reviewers for their challenging yet extremely helpful comments. Resources from the Blue Waters sustained-petascale computing project, which is supported by the National Science Foundation and the state of Illinois, contributed to this research. Funding Information: This research was supported in part by the Department of Energy through Grant DE-SC0014101. GOES data were obtained from NOAA CLASS. We are greatly appreciative of the availability of CM1, which was developed and is maintained by Dr. George Bryan. We also thank Dr. Nathan Dahl, Dr.Matt Parker, and the two anonymous reviewers for their challenging yet extremely helpful comments. Resources from the Blue Waters sustained-petascale computing project, which is supported by the National Science Foundation and the state of Illinois, contributed to this research Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 American Meteorological Society.",
year = "2017",
month = dec,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1175/JAS-D-16-0331.1",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "74",
pages = "4199--4211",
journal = "Journals of the Atmospheric Sciences",
issn = "0022-4928",
publisher = "American Meteorological Society",
number = "12",
}