Journal Article

Whirlwinds in Ladakh, India: An Initial Assessment of ARW‐WRF Performance

Niyogi, Dev, Dimri, A. P., Osuri, K. K.

2026

Overview

Whirlwinds were photographically captured in Stok, Choglamsar, and Nubra valleys in Ladakh, India, in June 2018. It is estimated that the spatial extent of these whirlwinds was 50 m2, vertical extent 0.5–1 km, and lasted for 15 min. To assess the meteorological setup that could have contributed to the occurrence of the whirlwinds, Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (ARW) model (v4.3) was run in a three nested domain setup with 3 km, 1 km, and 333 m resolution. The model could simulate the whirlwinds at finer grid spacing ( 333 m). The whirlwinds are formed in a strongly sheared environment of 22 m s−1, and the storm‐relative shear direction is 80°. These events appear to be initiated as feedback of localized heterogeneity in a convective setting with increased winds and directional change with height. The surface wind convergence due to the temperature gradient at the surface also contributes to whirlwind initiation. The temperature gradient aligns with recently developed landscape heterogeneity and could be due to increasing urbanization. This study reports on the first evidence of whirlwinds in the Himalayan region and demonstrates the ability of the ARW model in representing/simulating whirlwinds in the complex orography of the Himalayan region. First‐ever visual evidence of whirlwinds in the Himalayan Ladakh region is presented. Whirlwinds were photographically captured in Stok, Choglamsar, and Nubra valleys in Ladakh, India, in June 2018. It is estimated that the spatial extent of these whirlwinds was 50 m2, vertical extent 0.5–1 km, and lasted for 15 min. Local communities were concerned about the occurrence of such hitherto never witnessed whirlwinds in recent years and are reported as for the first time. To assess the meteorological setup that could have contributed to the occurrence of the whirlwinds, the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (ARW) model was run. The model could simulate the whirlwinds at finer grid spacing ( 333 m). These events appear to be initiated as feedback of localized heterogeneity in a convective setting with increased winds and directional change with height. The surface wind convergence due to the temperature gradient at the surface also contributes to whirlwind initiation. Interestingly, the temperature gradient aligns with recently developed landscape heterogeneity due to increasing urbanization.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd,John Wiley & Sons, Inc,Wiley
• Subject: ARW model / complex orography Himalayas / Heterogeneity / horizontal grid spacing / Ladakh / Orography / Physics / Storms / Surface wind / Temperature gradients / Topography / Tornadoes / Urbanization / Vortices / Weather forecasting / whirlwind / Whirlwinds / wind shear / Winds