Operational Uses of Spectrum Width
Patrick John Spoden, Ray A. Wolf, Leslie R. Lemon
Abstract
Spectrum width is a WSR-88D product that has been available to operational forecasters since the radar was deployed. In 2008, super-high-resolution reflectivity, velocity and spectrum width data became available. Six cases exemplifying operational use of spectrum width are presented; five are from after the upgrade. The cases were selected to depict the wide array of uses of spectrum width (SW). In one case, use of SW improved forecaster capability to evaluate the strength of horizontal shear within a bow echo’s mesovortex. One case shows that SW can be extremely helpful in determining location of boundaries, which aids in overall situational awareness. In another case, SW aided forecaster confidence to issue a tornado warning with lead time. If a storm is close to the radar (55 km in this example), SW can be used to clarify the location of the rear flank downdraft, assess where its wind damage may be a threat, and discern subsequent cutoff of the tornado from the warm, moist inflow. Finally, when used in a derecho case, SW helped a forecaster to identify more quickly where wind damage threats were likely.
Full Text: PDF
Citation:
Spoden, P. J., R. A. Wolf, and L. R. Lemon, 2012: Operational uses of spectrum width. Electronic J. Severe Storms Meteor., 7 (2), 1-28.
Keywords:
operational forecasting, radar tools, radar observations, algorithms, remote sensing, storm environments