Date of Award

August 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Aerospace Sciences

First Advisor

Catherine Finley

Abstract

Observationally, storm interactions have been associated with changes in severe convective storm behavior and evolution, including the development and maintenance of tornadoes. In particular, the interaction of neighboring convection in or near the rear flank of a supercell thunderstorm has frequently been associated with tornadogenesis. Although statistical relationships associated with these behavioral changes have been established, the physical mechanisms governing their evolution remain poorly understood. Presented are two sets of numerical experiments, each consisting of five idealized model simulations. One experiment set simulates a discrete “parent” supercell thunderstorm, while the other simulates the same “parent” subjected to a rear-flank interaction with an auxiliary “neighbor” cell. The interaction simulations reveal drastic changes in overall storm behavior and production of tornado-like-vortices. The results suggest both buoyant and dynamic contributions to these changes and provide further evidence that rear-flank storm interactions can modulate storm behavior, in turn modulating tornado development and maintenance.

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