Quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs) are responsible for approximately a quarter of all tornado events in the U.S., but no field campaigns have focused specifically on collecting data to understand QLCS tornadogenesis. The Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear System (PERiLS) project was the first observational study of tornadoes associated with QLCSs ever undertaken. Participants were drawn from more than 10 universities, laboratories, and institutes, with over 100 students participating in field activities. The PERiLS field phases spanned two years, late winters and early springs of 2022 and 2023, to increase the probability of intercepting significant tornadic QLCS events in a range of large-scale and local environments. The field phases of PERiLS collected data in nine tornadic and nontornadic QLCSs with unprecedented detail and diversity of measurements. The design and execution of the PERiLS field phase and preliminary data and ongoing analyses are shown.
Analysis of the 12 April 2020 Northern Louisiana Tornadic QLCS
On 12 April 2020, a tornadic quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) produced two EF-3 tornadoes in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana in close proximity to instrumentation operated by the University of Louisiana Monroe’s (ULM) Atmospheric Science program. In addition to the in situ environmental information, a high-resolution aerial damage survey was conducted by the ULM Unmanned Aerial Systems program. In this paper, these datasets are used to provide a comprehensive environmental and storm-scale analysis of the tornadic QLCS through northern Louisiana. In addition, we discuss the importance of aerial damage surveys, and how Doppler radar-derived tornado intensity estimates compared to the damage survey.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2030098
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10341205
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Operational Meteorology
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2325-6184
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 43 to 62
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.15191/nwajom.2022.1004
