LAUSR

AbstractStrong hurricanes cause severe, but highly variable, wind damage to homes and community infrastructure. It has been speculated, but not previously shown, that damage variability is caused by tornadoes or other small-scale phenomena. Here, we present the first mapping and tracking of persistent tornado-scale vortices (TSV) in the eyewall, and the first documentation of the likely role of eyewall mesovortices (MV) and TSVs in enhancing surface winds and damage. Unprecedented fine-scale observations in the eyewall of Hurricane Harvey (2017) were obtained by a Doppler On Wheels (DOW) radar deployed inside the eye. These reveal several persistent eyewall MVs revolving about the eye as well as superimposed sub-kilometer scale TSVs. Windfield perturbations associated with TSVs and MVs are less than those typical in supercell tornadoes, but, since they are embedded in strong background eyewall flow, are likely responsible for the enhancement of surface wind gusts, and significant damage, including destroy...