Abstract
We describe tornadogenesis and maintenance using the 3-dimensional vortex gas
model presented in Chorin (1994) and developed further in Flandoli and
Gubinelli (2002). We suggest that high-energy, super-critical vortices in the
sense of Benjamin (1962), that have been studied by Fiedler and Rotunno (1986),
have negative temperature in the sense of Onsager (1949) play an important role
in the model. We speculate that the formation of high-temperature vortices is
related to the helicity inherited as they form or tilt into the vertical and
their interaction with the surface and boundary layer. We also exploit the
notion of self-similarity to justify power laws derived from observations of
weak and strong tornadoes presented in Cai (2005); Wurman and Gill (2000);
Wurman and Alexander (2005). Analysis of a Bryan Cloud Model (CM1) simulation
of a tornadic supercell reveals scaling consistent with the observational
studies.