  New diagnostic methods are presented for localized, barotropic vorticity
evolution in tornadic environments. These methods focus on superhelicity, a
quantity shown to be strongly related to local maxima in vorticity tendency.
Mobile Doppler radar retrievals from three well-known cases of tornadogenesis
were studied with this new approach. The results show promise for detecting and
tracking coherent dynamical features known to be related to tornadogenesis, as
well as detecting signals of imminent tornadogenesis at an earlier stage than
vorticity tendency analysis. Furthermore, these methods may provide physical
insight into vortex-vortex interactions and vortex modes in the vicinity of the
mesocyclone.
