Forecast Improvements
Tri-State Tornado Reanalysis
Objectives
Re-investigate the Tri-State tornado of 18 March 1925.
Accomplishments
An informal group of researchers – including Robert A. Maddox (retired
NSSL Director), Robert H. Johns (retired SPC Science and Operations Officer),
Donald W. Burgess (retired NSSL scientist, now with CIMMS), Charles A.
Doswell III, Matthew S. Gilmore (University of Illinois), Steve Piltz (NWS
Tulsa), and John A. Hart (SPC) – has continued this unfunded project,
with multiple trips to investigate the track of the infamous Tri-State
tornado of 18 March 1925. Work continues to find more meteorological data
and track evidence. We are interacting informally with Drs. Tom Hamill,
Gil Compo, and Jeff Whittaker (NOAA), who have employed Ensemble Kalman
Filter (EnKF) methods to reconstruct the 4-dimensional atmospheric structure
during this historical event. It is clear that the reconstructions are
unable to resolve some of the details seen in the observations – notably,
the surface moisture in the reconstructions is generally less than observed,
as are the upper level winds.
This project is ongoing.
Publications
Doswell, C. A. III, R. A. Maddox, C. Crisp, and M. S. Gilmore, 2006: A reanalysis
of the relationship between the synoptic scale cyclone and the Tri-State tornado
of 18 March 1925. 13th Cyclone Workshop, Asilomar, CA.