Another advantage of single radar AzShear – orientation to the radar.

Here is an ongoing tornado (according to the report shapefile from this event) as seen in the merged 0-2km AzShear product:

Yeah, likely TVS in the velocity data from KEOX (top right pane), Reflectivity is…messy…, and Merged AzShear shows an area of white (when sampled showed 0.023 s-1 values) associated with the TVS.  That is pretty strong!

However, the Merged product loses some key information that could come in handy in figuring out details of the vortex; how is this oriented with respect to the radar?  This is where the single-radar AzShear comes in handy:

Each single-radar (KEOX top image, KMXX bottom image) now shows much better information on how the area of shear is oriented with respect to the radar.  This becomes essential in situations where there are multiple areas of strong AzShear in and around a possible tornado; things like a new circulation in the flanking line that could eventually merge with the original tornado, mesocyclone occlusion with new development, weakening tornado rotating back into the core of the storm, anticyclonic tornado development, and so on.  Many of these features may be lost in the merged products but will stand out to the discerning eye on the single-radar products.  Add in the fact that these update scan-by-scan and during quickly evolving features in critical periods of the life cycle of small-scale vorticies, and single-radar becomes pretty valuable.

Have I mentioned yet that I would like this in my office? Now?  Please…

-Dusty