A Climatology and Comparison of Parameters for Significant Tornado Events in the United States

A sample of 448 significant tornado events was collected, representing a population of 1072 individual tornadoes across the contiguous United States from 2000 to 2008. Classification of convective mode was assessed from radar mosaics for each event with the majority classified as discrete cells compared to quasi-linear convective systems and clusters. These events were further stratified by season and region and compared with a null-tornado database of 911 significant hail and wind events that occurred without nearby tornadoes. These comparisons involved 1) environmental variables that have been used through the past 25-50 yr as part of the approach to tornado forecasting, 2) recent sounding-based parameter evaluations, and 3) convective mode. The results show that composite and kinematic parameters (whether at standard pressure levels or sounding derived), along with convective mode, provide greater discrimination than thermodynamic parameters between significant tornado versus either significant hail or wind events that occurred in the absence of nearby tornadoes.