Mesoscale Structural Evolution of Three Tropical Weather Systems Observed during PREDICT

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1284-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Davis ◽  
David A. Ahijevych
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Mesoscale Dynamics ◽  
Tropospheric Circulation ◽  
Deep Moist Convection ◽  
Tropical Weather

Abstract Three well-observed Atlantic tropical weather systems that occurred during the 2010 hurricane season are analyzed. One case was former Tropical Storm Gaston that failed to redevelop into a tropical cyclone; the other two cases were developing storms Karl and Matthew. Geostationary satellite, multisensor-derived precipitation, and dropsondes from the National Science Foundation (NSF)–NCAR Gulfstream V (GV), NASA DC-8, and the NOAA Gulfstream IV (G-IV) and WP-3D Orion (P-3) aircraft are analyzed in a system-following frame to quantify the mesoscale dynamics of these systems. Gaston featured extensive dry air surrounding an initially moist core. Vertical shear forced a misalignment of midtropospheric and lower-tropospheric circulation centers. This misalignment allowed dry air to intrude above the lower-tropospheric center and severely limited the area influenced by deep moist convection, thus providing little chance of maintaining or rebuilding the vortex in sheared flow. By contrast, Karl and Matthew developed in a moister environment overall, with moisture increasing with time in the middle and upper troposphere. Deep moist convection was quasi-diurnal prior to genesis. For Karl, deep convection was initially organized away from the lower-tropospheric circulation center, creating a misalignment of the vortex. The vortex gradually realigned over several days and genesis followed this realignment within roughly one day. Matthew experienced weaker shear, was vertically aligned through most of its early evolution, and developed more rapidly than Karl. The evolutions of the three cases are interpreted in the context of recent theories of tropical cyclone formation.

Rapid Filamentation Zones in Intense Tropical Cyclones

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 325-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Rozoff ◽  
Wayne H. Schubert ◽  
Brian D. McNoldy ◽  
James P. Kossin
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Coherent Structures ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Vortex Interaction ◽  
Tangential Wind ◽  
Stratiform Precipitation ◽  
Deep Moist Convection

Abstract Intense tropical cyclones often possess relatively little convection around their cores. In radar composites, this surrounding region is usually echo-free or contains light stratiform precipitation. While subsidence is typically quite pronounced in this region, it is not the only mechanism suppressing convection. Another possible mechanism leading to weak-echo moats is presented in this paper. The basic idea is that the strain-dominated flow surrounding an intense vortex core creates an unfavorable environment for sustained deep, moist convection. Strain-dominated regions of a tropical cyclone can be distinguished from rotation-dominated regions by the sign of S21 + S22 − ζ2, where S1 = ux − υy and S2 = υx + uy are the rates of strain and ζ = υx − uy is the relative vorticity. Within the radius of maximum tangential wind, the flow tends to be rotation-dominated (ζ2 > S21 + S22), so that coherent structures, such as mesovortices, can survive for long periods of time. Outside the radius of maximum tangential wind, the flow tends to be strain-dominated (S21 + S22 > ζ2), resulting in filaments of anomalous vorticity. In the regions of strain-dominated flow the filamentation time is defined as τfil = 2(S21 + S22 − ζ2)−1/2. In a tropical cyclone, an approximately 30-km-wide annular region can exist just outside the radius of maximum tangential wind, where τfil is less than 30 min and even as small as 5 min. This region is defined as the rapid filamentation zone. Since the time scale for deep moist convective overturning is approximately 30 min, deep convection can be significantly distorted and even suppressed in the rapid filamentation zone. A nondivergent barotropic model illustrates the effects of rapid filamentation zones in category 1–5 hurricanes and demonstrates the evolution of such zones during binary vortex interaction and mesovortex formation from a thin annular ring of enhanced vorticity.

scholarly journals Effects of Vertical Shears and Midlevel Dry Air on Tropical Cyclone Developments*

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 3859-3875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuyang Ge ◽  
Tim Li ◽  
Melinda Peng
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Vertical Alignment ◽  
Shear Forces ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Vertically Aligned ◽  
The Impact

Abstract A set of idealized experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) were designed to investigate the impacts of a midlevel dry air layer, vertical shear, and their combined effects on tropical cyclone (TC) development. Compared with previous studies that focused on the relative radial position of dry air with no mean flow, it is found that the combined effect of dry air and environmental vertical shear can greatly affect TC development. Moreover, this study indicates the importance of dry air and vertical shear orientations in determining the impact. The background vertical shear causes the tilting of an initially vertically aligned vortex. The shear forces a secondary circulation (FSC) with ascent (descent) in the downshear (upshear) flank. Hence, convection tends to be favored on the downshear side. The FSC reinforced by the convection may overcome the shear-induced drifting and “restore” the vertical alignment. When dry air is located in the downshear-right quadrant of the initial vortex, the dry advection by cyclonic circulation brings the dry air to the downshear side and suppresses moist convection therein. Such a process disrupts the “restoring” mechanism associated with the FSC and thus inhibits TC development. The sensitivity experiments show that, for a fixed dry air condition, a marked difference occurs in TC development between an easterly and a westerly shear background.

scholarly journals Toward an Understanding of Tropical Cyclone Formation with a Nonhydrostatic, Mesoscale-Convection-Resolving Model§

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
Masanori Yamasaki
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Numerical Experiments ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Initial Time ◽  
Convective System ◽  
Vortex Center ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Mesoscale Convection ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Formation ◽  
Convective Systems

This paper describes results from numerical experiments which have been made toward a better understanding of tropical cyclone formation. This study uses a nonhydrostatic version of the author’s mesoscale-convection-resolving model that was developed in the 1980s to improve paramerization schemes of moist convection. In this study the horizontal grid size is taken to be 20 km in an area of 6,000 km x 3,000 km, and a non-uniform coarse grid is used in two areas to its north and south. Results from two numerical experiments are presented; one (case 1) without any environmental flow, and the other (case 2) with an easterly flow without low-level vertical shear. Three circular buoyancy perturbations are placed in the west-east direction at the initial time. Convection is initiated in the imposed latently unstable (positive CAPE) area. In both cases, a vortex with a pressure low is formed, and two band-shaped convective systems are formed to the north and the south of the vortex center. The vortex and two convective systems are oriented in the westsouthwest – eastnortheast direction, and their horizontal scales are nearly 2,000 km. In case 1, the band-shaped convective system on the southern side is stronger, and winds are stronger just to its south. In contrast, in case 2, the northern convective system is stronger, and winds are stronger just to its north. Therefore, the distributions of the equivalent potential temperature in the boundary layer and latent instability (positive buoyancy of the rising air) are also quite different between cases 1 and 2. The TC formation processes in these different cases are discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of examining the time change of latent instability field.

Numerical Simulations of Interactions between Gravity Waves and Deep Moist Convection

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1480-1496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary A. Eitzen ◽  
David A. Randall
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Velocity Versus ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Vertical Grid ◽  
Wave Energy Flux ◽  
Deep Moist Convection ◽  
Vertically Propagating ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Waves

Abstract This study uses a numerical model to simulate deep convection both in the Tropics over the ocean and the midlatitudes over land. The vertical grid that was used extends into the stratosphere, allowing for the simultaneous examination of the convection and the vertically propagating gravity waves that it generates. A large number of trajectories are used to evaluate the behavior of tracers in the troposphere, and it is found that the tracers can be segregated into different types based upon their position in a diagram of normalized vertical velocity versus displacement. Conditional sampling is also used to identify updrafts in the troposphere and calculate their contribution to the kinetic energy budget of the troposphere. In addition, Fourier analysis is used to characterize the waves in the stratosphere; it was found that the waves simulated in this study have similarities to those observed and simulated by other researchers. Finally, this study examines the wave energy flux as a means to provide a link between the tropospheric behavior of the convection and the strength of the waves in the stratosphere.

Evaluating the conservation of energy variables in simulations of deep moist convection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Peters ◽  
Daniel R. Chavas
Keyword(s):  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Squall Line ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Conservation Of Energy ◽  
Deep Moist Convection ◽  
Static Energy ◽  
Hydrostatic Balance ◽  
Latent Heats

AbstractIt is often assumed in parcel theory calculations, numerical models, and cumulus parameterizations that moist static energy (MSE) is adiabatically conserved. However, the adiabatic conservation of MSE is only approximate because of the assumption of hydrostatic balance. Two alternative variables are evaluated here: MSE −IB and MSE +KE, wherein IB is the path integral of buoyancy (B) and KE is kinetic energy. Both of these variables relax the hydrostatic assumption and are more precisely conserved than MSE. This article quantifies the errors that result from assuming that the aforementioned variables are conserved in large eddy simulations (LES) of both disorganized and organized deep convection. Results show that both MSE −IB and MSE +KE better predict quantities along trajectories than MSE alone. MSE −IB is better conserved in isolated deep convection, whereas MSE −IB and MSE +KE perform comparably in squall line simulations. These results are explained by differences between the pressure perturbation behavior of squall lines and isolated convection. Errors in updraft B diagnoses are universally minimized when MSE−IB is assumed to be adiabatically conserved, but only when moisture dependencies of heat capacity and temperature dependency of latent heating are accounted for. When less accurate latent heat and heat capacity formulae were used, MSE−IB yielded poorer B predictions than MSE due to compensating errors. Our results suggest that various applications would benefit from using either MSE −IB or MSE +KE instead of MSE with properly formulated heat capacities and latent heats.

scholarly journals Size-Resolved Evaluation of Simulated Deep Tropical Convection

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (7) ◽  
pp. 2161-2182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Senf ◽  
Daniel Klocke ◽  
Matthias Brueck
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Power Laws ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Spatial Coupling ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Realistic Representation ◽  
Deep Moist Convection

Abstract Deep moist convection is an inherently multiscale phenomenon with organization processes coupling convective elements to larger-scale structures. A realistic representation of the tropical dynamics demands a simulation framework that is capable of representing physical processes across a wide range of scales. Therefore, storm-resolving numerical simulations at 2.4 km have been performed covering the tropical Atlantic and neighboring parts for 2 months. The simulated cloud fields are combined with infrared geostationary satellite observations, and their realism is assessed with the help of object-based evaluation methods. It is shown that the simulations are able to develop a well-defined intertropical convergence zone. However, marine convective activity measured by the cold cloud coverage is considerably underestimated, especially for the winter season and the western Atlantic. The spatial coupling across the resolved scales leads to simulated cloud number size distributions that follow power laws similar to the observations, with slopes steeper in winter than summer and slopes steeper over ocean than over land. The simulated slopes are, however, too steep, indicating too many small and too few large tropical cloud cells. It is also discussed that the number of larger cells is less influenced by multiday variability of environmental conditions. Despite the identified deficits, the analyzed simulations highlight the great potential of this modeling framework for process-based studies of tropical deep convection.

scholarly journals A High-Resolution Simulation of Asymmetries in Severe Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Larry (2006)

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (12) ◽  
pp. 4171-4187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamish A. Ramsay ◽  
Lance M. Leslie ◽  
Jeffrey D. Kepert
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Vertical Motion ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Frictional Convergence

Abstract Advances in observations, theory, and modeling have revealed that inner-core asymmetries are a common feature of tropical cyclones (TCs). In this study, the inner-core asymmetries of a severe Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone, TC Larry (2006), are investigated using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) and the Kepert–Wang boundary layer model. The MM5-simulated TC exhibited significant asymmetries in the inner-core region, including rainfall distribution, surface convergence, and low-level vertical motion. The near-core environment was characterized by very low environmental vertical shear and consequently the TC vortex had almost no vertical tilt. It was found that, prior to landfall, the rainfall asymmetry was very pronounced with precipitation maxima consistently to the right of the westward direction of motion. Persistent maxima in low-level convergence and vertical motion formed ahead of the translating TC, resulting in deep convection and associated hydrometeor maxima at about 500 hPa. The asymmetry in frictional convergence was mainly due to the storm motion at the eyewall, but was dominated by the proximity to land at larger radii. The displacement of about 30°–120° of azimuth between the surface and midlevel hydrometeor maxima is explained by the rapid cyclonic advection of hydrometeors by the tangential winds in the TC core. These results for TC Larry support earlier studies that show that frictional convergence in the boundary layer can play a significant role in determining the asymmetrical structures, particularly when the environmental vertical shear is weak or absent.

Life of a Six-Hour Hurricane

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay L. Shelton ◽  
John Molinari
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Vortex Center ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Sheared Flow ◽  
The Core ◽  
Equivalent Potential

Abstract Hurricane Claudette developed from a weak vortex in 6 h as deep convection shifted from downshear into the vortex center, despite ambient vertical wind shear exceeding 10 m s−1. Six hours later it weakened to a tropical storm, and 12 h after the hurricane stage a circulation center could not be found at 850 hPa by aircraft reconnaissance. At hurricane strength the vortex contained classic structure seen in intensifying hurricanes, with the exception of 7°–12°C dewpoint depressions in the lower troposphere upshear of the center. These extended from the 100-km radius to immediately adjacent to the eyewall, where equivalent potential temperature gradients reached 6 K km−1. The dry air was not present prior to intensification, suggesting that it was associated with vertical shear–induced subsidence upshear of the developing storm. It is argued that weakening of the vortex was driven by cooling associated with the mixing of dry air into the core, and subsequent evaporation and cold downdrafts. Evidence suggests that this mixing might have been enhanced by eyewall instabilities after the period of rapid deepening. The existence of a fragile, small, but genuinely hurricane-strength vortex at the surface for 6 h presents difficult problems for forecasters. Such a “temporary hurricane” in strongly sheared flow might require a different warning protocol than longer-lasting hurricane vortices in weaker shear.

scholarly journals A Numerical Study of the Impacts of Dry Air on Tropical Cyclone Formation: A Development Case and a Nondevelopment Case

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody Fritz ◽  
Zhuo Wang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Trajectory Analysis ◽  
Air Entrainment ◽  
Vertical Transport ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Formation ◽  
Budget Analysis

Abstract The impacts of dry air on tropical cyclone formation are examined in the numerical model simulations of ex-Gaston (2010) and pre-Fay (2008). The former, a remnant low downgraded from a short-lived tropical cyclone, can be regarded as a nondeveloping system because it failed to redevelop, and the latter developed into a tropical cyclone despite lateral dry air entrainment and a transient upper-level dry air intrusion. Water vapor budget analysis suggests that the mean vertical moisture transport plays the dominant role in moistening the free atmosphere. Backward trajectory analysis and water budget analysis show that vertical transport of dry air from the middle and upper troposphere, where a well-defined wave pouch is absent, contributes to the midlevel drying near the pouch center in ex-Gaston. The midlevel drying suppresses deep convection, reduces moisture supply from the boundary layer, and contributes to the nondevelopment of ex-Gaston. Three-dimensional trajectory analysis based on the numerical model simulation of Fay suggests that dry air entrained at the pouch periphery tends to stay off the pouch center because of the weak midlevel inflow or gets moistened along its path even if it is being wrapped into the wave pouch. Lateral entrainment in the middle troposphere thus does not suppress convection near the pouch center or prevent the development of Tropical Storm Fay. This study suggests that the upper troposphere is a weak spot of the wave pouch at the early formation stage and that the vertical transport is likely a more direct pathway for dry air to influence moist convection near the pouch center.

A Lagrangian Perspective on Parameterizing Deep Convection

2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (11) ◽  
pp. 4127-4149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron McTaggart-Cowan ◽  
Paul A. Vaillancourt ◽  
Ayrton Zadra ◽  
Leo Separovic ◽  
Shawn Corvec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Gray Zone ◽  
Convective Initiation ◽  
Intermittent Behavior ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Deep Moist Convection

Abstract The parameterization of deep moist convection as a subgrid-scale process in numerical models of the atmosphere is required at resolutions that extend well into the convective “gray zone,” the range of grid spacings over which such convection is partially resolved. However, as model resolution approaches the gray zone, the assumptions upon which most existing convective parameterizations are based begin to break down. We focus here on one aspect of this problem that emerges as the temporal and spatial scales of the model become similar to those of deep convection itself. The common practice of static tendency application over a prescribed adjustment period leads to logical inconsistencies at resolutions approaching the gray zone, while more frequent refreshment of the convective calculations can lead to undesirable intermittent behavior. A proposed parcel-based treatment of convective initiation introduces memory into the system in a manner that is consistent with the underlying physical principles of convective triggering, thus reducing the prevalence of unrealistic gradients in convective activity in an operational model running with a 10 km grid spacing. The subsequent introduction of a framework that considers convective clouds as persistent objects, each possessing unique attributes that describe physically relevant cloud properties, appears to improve convective precipitation patterns by depicting realistic cloud memory, movement, and decay. Combined, this Lagrangian view of convection addresses one aspect of the convective gray zone problem and lays a foundation for more realistic treatments of the convective life cycle in parameterization schemes.

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