Outbreak of a Tornado with Tropical Cyclone Yaas (2021) Formed over the Bay of Bengal

Abstract

A tornado outbreak occurred in West Bengal (WB), India, about 15–16 h before the landfall of Cyclone Yaas formed in May 2021 over the Bay of Bengal. High-resolution analysis data have been used to investigate the possible tornadoes in terms of environmental conditions connecting to the cyclone. The WB tornado is found as intense as EF2–3 on the tornado scale and is likely associated with a mini-supercell. The total shear of 37 m s⁻¹ from 0–6 km above ground level (AGL) with strong clockwise rotation, the moderate instability (1504 J kg⁻¹) and the energy helicity index of 2.2 are the substantial convective parameters related to the WB tornado. Moreover, the favorable environment owning intense bulk shear, a larger value of storm-relative environmental helicity in the lowest 1 km AGL and high values of significant tornado parameter (STP) urge the potentiality of multiple tornadoes spawning in multi-days accompanying the landfalling Cyclone Yaas. The right-front quadrant of the cyclone is found to be more vulnerable for developing moderate to severe tornadoes within its rainbands. The positive potential vorticity anomalies evidence the cloud-scale cyclonic circulation from surface to 400 hPa with the maximum in the mid-level.