Reversible Cape in Tropical Cyclone Tornado Regimes

Tropical cyclone (TC) tornadoes produced by supercells occur in characteristic thermodynamic environments of  rich low-level moisture,  high precipitable water and  commonly (but not always) enhancement to CAPE by diurnal, diabatic surface heating. These factors juxtapose with strong low-level shear magnitudes, high storm-relative helicity and enlarged hodographs to optimize supercellular tornado potential in TCs (e.g., McCaul 1991; Edwards et al. 2012a), especially in areas located north through south-southeast of center (e.g., Edwards 2012 and climatologies cited therein). Nonsupercellular tornadoes also occur in TCs; however, they tend to be less damaging, shorter lived, and often embedded within otherwise supercell-favorable environments (Edwards et al. 2012b).