Mesocyclones in Central Europe as seen by radar

• First multi-year analysis of mesocyclones in Central Europe.
• Diurnal cycle of mesocyclones presented here features a wider maximum in the late afternoon/evening compared to the diurnal cycle of lightning in the same area.
• Half of all hail events in Germany are associated with a mesocyclone detected in radar data at the same time.
• Some mesocyclone attributes, e.g. depth and maximum shear, proved to have predictive skill for indicating the occurrence of hail.
• For all of the six strong tornadoes (F2) that were reported in Germany for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 a mesocyclone was detected.

The occurrence and characteristics of mesocyclones in Central Europe as seen by radar are analysed. A three year analysis shows an annual and diurnal cycle with a wider maximum in the late afternoon/evening compared to the diurnal cycle of general thunderstorms. Analysis of F2 tornado events and over a hundred hail storms show the characteristics of the corresponding mesocyclones as seen by radar. For all of the six F2 tornadoes in the three-year period in Germany a corresponding mesocyclone could be detected in radar data. Furthermore the analysis reveals that about half of all hail storms in Germany are associated with a mesocyclone detected in radar data within 10 km and 10 min. Some mesocyclone attributes, e.g. depth and maximum shear, and of the associated convective cell, e.g. reflectivity related parameters VIL, VILD and echotop, have predictive skill for indicating the occurrence of hail. The mesocyclone detection algorithm may support the analysis and nowcasting of severe weather events and thus support the warning process.