ISSN 1000-0526
CN 11-2282/P
CN 11-2282/P
Archive > Volume 52 Issue 2 > 2026,52(2):174-189. DOI:10.7519/j.issn.1000-0526.2025.022001 Prev Next
Damage Survey and Mesoscale Characteristics of the Tornadoes in Heze of Shandong Province on 5 July 2024
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Abstract:
A documented tornado outbreak event occurred in Shandong Province on 5 July 2024, influenced by the upper-level trough and Huang-Huai cyclone.The event notably impacted Heze City, where tornadoes are rarely reported, and caused substantial casualties and property damages. This study analyzes the development and evolution of tornadoes as well as their environmental conditions and mesoscale characteristics in Dongming and Juancheng counties of Heze City, based on disaster investigations, online video and photo evidences, ERA5 reanalysis data and dual-polarization radar observations. The main conclusions are as follows. According to the comprehensive assessment, the maximum force of the tornadoes in Dongming and Juancheng counties reached the degree of strong tornado (equivalent to level EF2-EF3). The tornados occurred at the location approximately 50 km northeast of the Huang-Huai cyclone center. The environment features conducive to the formation of supercell tornadoes included abundant water vapor, low lifting condensation level, sufficient convective instability energy, strong storm-relative helicity, and strong vertical wind shear. The surface meso-β scale convergence line and appropriate cold pool intensity provided favorable conditions for the initiation and development of the supercell tornadic storm, strengthening the near-surface vertical vorticity. Both tornadoes originated from the same southwest-northeast moving supercell, characterized by a robust echo centroid near 5 km altitude, and a persistent, deep meso- cyclone with a tilted vertical structure. The tornadoes appeared at the top of the hook echo of the supercell, and the period of tornado occurrence was accompanied by signals such as the reduction of mesocyclone scale and the enhancement of cyclonic vortex. The two radars both detected tornado vortex signature (TVS) and tornado debris signature (TDS), with the earliest detection of TVS being 15 min and 5 min ahead of the tornado occurrence time, respectively. During the process tornado, the correlation coefficient (CC) corresponding to the vortex features rapidly decreased. The lowest value (0.46) of CC appeared at the time when ground damage was most severe, which may be attributed to the mixing of hydrometeor particles and a large amount of debris carried by the strong updraft, as well as the reduction in signal-to-noise ratio caused by the intense updraft. After the tornado dissipated, the low CC value characteristic persisted for more than 15 min. These findings can enhance understanding of Huang-Huai cyclone-associated tornadoes and provide operational guidance for tornado monitoring and warning systems.
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