Research: Convective Modeling Group
Understanding Long-Track Tornadoes
For her Master's research at Illinois, Samantha Chiu is carrying out a modeling study of the April 27, 2011 Alabama tornado outbreak. In so doing, we seek to better understand many aspects of long track tornadoes, in particular what environmental or storm structural properties allow them to persist for so long. Real-data (case-study) and idealized simulations are underway to isolate environmental influences vs. the roles of near-storm instability and wind shear.
Click here for more information on this study.
The 2011 Joplin, MO tornado
Kevin Van Leer is modeling the devastating Joplin, MO tornadic storm of 2011. The research questions here include the role of storm mergers in the rapid intensification of the developing storm, and if / how these mergers influenced tornado formation and subsequent EF-5 intensity. Kevin won an award for his presentation of this research at the 2012 Severe Local Storms conference in Nashville, TN.
Click here for more information on the Joplin storm study.
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