Vertical Extent of Thunderstorm Inflows Revealed by Polarimetric Radar

AbstractIt is shown that the dual-polarization radar parameters can be used to estimate the vertical extent of inflow regions in thunderstorms. Atmospheric biota trapped by inflows allows identification of inflow regions. It is shown that weak echoes from biota can be observed at signal-to-noise ratios as low as −7 dB. The vertical extent of inflow reached 5.2 km in the analyzed tornadic thunderstorm and 6.7 km in a severe thunderstorm.