scholarly journals The Transient Responses of an Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone to Instantaneous Surface Roughening and Drying

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 2807-2834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Chen ◽  
Daniel R. Chavas
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Wind Field ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Surface Roughening ◽  
Surface Drag ◽  
Transient Responses ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Thermodynamic Stabilization ◽  
Surface Drying ◽  
High Winds

Abstract Inland tropical cyclone (TC) impacts due to high winds and rainfall-induced flooding depend strongly on the evolution of the wind field and precipitation distribution after landfall. However, research has yet to test the detailed response of a mature TC and its hazards to changes in surface forcing in idealized settings. This work tests the transient responses of an idealized hurricane to instantaneous transitions in two key surface properties associated with landfall: roughening and drying. Simplified axisymmetric numerical modeling experiments are performed in which the surface drag coefficient and evaporative fraction are each systematically modified beneath a mature hurricane. Surface drying stabilizes the eyewall and consequently weakens the overturning circulation, thereby reducing inward angular momentum transport that slowly decays the wind field only within the inner core. In contrast, surface roughening initially (~12 h) rapidly weakens the entire low-level wind field and enhances the overturning circulation dynamically despite the concurrent thermodynamic stabilization of the eyewall; thereafter the storm gradually decays, similar to drying. As a result, total precipitation temporarily increases with roughening but uniformly decreases with drying. Storm size decreases monotonically and rapidly with surface roughening, whereas the radius of maximum wind can increase with moderate surface drying. Overall, this work provides a mechanistic foundation for understanding the inland evolution of real storms in nature.

scholarly journals The Role of Inner-Core Moisture in Tropical Cyclone Predictability and Practical Forecast Skill

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 2315-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Emanuel ◽  
Fuqing Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Wind Field ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Forecast Skill ◽  
Initial Condition ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Storm Intensity ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasts

Abstract Errors in tropical cyclone intensity forecasts are dominated by initial-condition errors out to at least a few days. Initialization errors are usually thought of in terms of position and intensity, but here it is shown that growth of intensity error is at least as sensitive to the specification of inner-core moisture as to that of the wind field. Implications of this finding for tropical cyclone observational strategies and for overall predictability of storm intensity are discussed.

scholarly journals Influence of Cloud Microphysics and Radiation on Tropical Cyclone Structure and Motion

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 11.1-11.27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Fovell ◽  
Yizhe Peggy Bu ◽  
Kristen L. Corbosiero ◽  
Wen-wen Tung ◽  
Yang Cao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Wind Field ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Outer Core ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Convective Activity ◽  
Radiative Processes ◽  
Structure And Motion

Abstract The authors survey a series of modeling studies that have examined the influences that cloud microphysical processes can have on tropical cyclone (TC) motion, the strength and breadth of the wind field, inner-core diabatic heating asymmetries, outer-core convective activity, and the characteristics of the TC anvil cloud. These characteristics are sensitive to the microphysical parameterization (MP) in large part owing to the cloud-radiative forcing (CRF), the interaction of hydrometeors with radiation. The most influential component of CRF is that due to absorption and emission of longwave radiation in the anvil, which via gentle lifting directly encourages the more extensive convective activity that then leads to a radial expansion of the TC wind field. On a curved Earth, the magnitude of the outer winds helps determine the speed and direction of TC motion via the beta drift. CRF also influences TC motion by determining how convective asymmetries develop in the TC inner core. Further improvements in TC forecasting may require improved understanding and representation of cloud-radiative processes in operational models, and more comprehensive comparisons with observations are clearly needed.

scholarly journals Effects of Midlevel Dry Air on Development of the Axisymmetric Tropical Cyclone Secondary Circulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 1455-1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua J. Alland ◽  
Brian H. Tang ◽  
Kristen L. Corbosiero
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Secondary Circulation ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
Turbulent Entrainment ◽  
Convective Motions ◽  
Lower Entropy

Abstract Idealized experiments conducted with an axisymmetric tropical cyclone (TC) model are used to assess the effects of midlevel dry air on the axisymmetric TC secondary circulation. Moist entropy diagnostics of convective parcels are used to determine how midlevel dry air affects the distribution and strength of convection. Analyzing upward and downward motions in the Eulerian radius–height coordinate system shows that the moistest simulation has stronger vertical motions and a wider overturning circulation compared to drier simulations. A Lagrangian entropy framework further analyzes convective motions by separating upward higher-entropy streams from downward lower-entropy streams. Results show that the driest simulation has a weaker mean overturning circulation with updrafts characterized by lower mean entropy compared to moister simulations. Turbulent entrainment of dry air into deep convection at midlevels is small, suggesting that the influence of midlevel dry air on convective strength and the structure of the secondary circulation are through modification of the inflow layer. Backward trajectories show low-entropy air subsiding into the subcloud layer from low to midlevels of the atmosphere between radii of 200 and 400 km. Surface fluxes increase the entropy of these parcels before they rise in convective updrafts, but the increased recovery time, combined with descending motion closer to the inner core, decreases the width of the TC secondary circulation in the driest simulation.

Impact of Dry Midlevel Air on the Tropical Cyclone Outer Circulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 1809-1826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Wang ◽  
Ralf Toumi
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Horizontal Gradient ◽  
Latent Heating ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Dry Air ◽  
High Enthalpy ◽  
Air Ventilation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The impact of dry midlevel air on the outer circulation of tropical cyclones is investigated in idealized simulations with and without a moist envelope protecting the inner core. It is found that a dry midlevel layer away from the cyclone center can broaden the outer primary circulation and thus the overall destructive potential at both developing and mature stages. The midlevel outer drying enhances the horizontal gradient of latent heating in the rainbands and drives the expansion of the outer circulation. The moist convection at large radii is suppressed rapidly after the midlevel air is dried in the outer rainbands. An enhanced horizontal gradient of latent heating initiates a radial–vertical overturning circulation anomaly in the rainbands. This anomalous overturning circulation accelerates the radial inflow of the main secondary circulation, increases the angular momentum import, and thus increases the cyclone size. The dry air, mixed into the boundary layer from the midtroposphere, is “recharged” by high enthalpy fluxes because of the increased thermodynamical disequilibrium above the sea surface. This recharge process protects the eyewall convection from the environmental dry-air ventilation. The proposed mechanism may explain the continuous expansion in the tropical cyclone outer circulation after maturity, as found in observations.

scholarly journals A Model for the Complete Radial Structure of the Tropical Cyclone Wind Field. Part II: Wind Field Variability

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 3093-3113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Chavas ◽  
Ning Lin
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Physical Model ◽  
Wind Field ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Outer Radius ◽  
Maximum Wind ◽  
Modes Of Variability ◽  
Simple Physical Model ◽  
Radial Structure ◽  
Field Variability

Abstract Part I of this work developed a simple physical model for the complete radial structure of the low-level azimuthal wind field in a tropical cyclone that compared well with observations. However, wind field variability in the model is tied principally to its external parameters given by the maximum wind speed and the radius of maximum wind, the latter of which lacks a credible independent physical model for its variability. Here the authors explore the modes of variability that arise from the alternative specification of the model, which takes the outer radius in lieu of the radius of maximum wind. Nondimensionalization of the model reveals two theoretical modes of structural variability in absolute angular momentum that are shown to closely match observations. These two modes correspond to three modes of wind field variability associated with variations in intensity, outer storm size, and latitude. These wind field modes are demonstrated to mirror the dominant modes of variability found in nature, in particular the intrastorm variation of inner-core structure and the interstorm variation of overall storm size. In combination, the model offers a credible physical solution for the complete time-dependent tropical cyclone wind field in conjunction with the external specification of intensity, outer size, and latitude. More broadly, the model offers theoretical and conceptual insight into the nature of the tropical cyclone wind field, including the oft-conflated terms “size” and “structure” and their distinct variabilities.

scholarly journals A Model for the Complete Radial Structure of the Tropical Cyclone Wind Field. Part I: Comparison with Observed Structure*

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 3647-3662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Chavas ◽  
Ning Lin ◽  
Kerry Emanuel
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Wind Field ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Outer Region ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Radial Structure ◽  
Region Model ◽  
Spiral Rainbands

Abstract Part I of this work develops a simple model for the complete radial structure of the low-level tropical cyclone wind field. The model is constructed by mathematically merging existing theoretical solutions for the radial wind structure at the top of the boundary layer in the inner ascending and outer descending regions. The model is then compared with two observational datasets. First, the outer solution is compared with a global database from the QuikSCAT satellite (1999–2009) and found to reproduce the characteristic wind structure of the broad outer region of tropical cyclones at large radii, indicating that the solution successfully captures the physics of this region. Second, the inner solution is compared with the HWind database (2004–12) for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific basins and is shown to be capable of reproducing the inner-core structure while substantially underestimating wind speeds at larger radii. The complete model is then shown to largely, though not entirely, rectify this underestimation. Limitations of the model are discussed, including the need for a formal evaluation of the physics of the inner core as well as a transition-region model at intermediate radii characterized by intermittent convection, such as spiral rainbands. Part II will characterize the model’s modes of wind field variability and their relationship to the variability observed in nature.

scholarly journals Can Existing Theory Predict the Response of Tropical Cyclone Intensity to Idealized Landfall?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Chen ◽  
Daniel R. Chavas
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Transient Response ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Roughening ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Surface Drag ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Storm Intensity ◽  
Theoretical Predictions

AbstractTropical cyclones cause significant inland hazards, including wind damage and freshwater flooding, that depend strongly on how storm intensity evolves after landfall. Existing theoretical predictions for storm intensification and equilibrium storm intensity have been tested over the open ocean but have not yet been applied to storms after landfall. Recent work examined the transient response of the tropical cyclone low-level wind field to instantaneous surface roughening or drying in idealized axisymmetric f -plane simulations. Here, experiments testing combined surface roughening and drying with varying magnitudes of each are used to test theoretical predictions for the intensity response. The transient response to combined surface forcings can be reproduced by the product of their individual responses, in line with traditional potential intensity theory. Existing intensification theory is generalized to weakening and found capable of reproducing the time-dependent inland intensity decay. The initial (0-10min) rapid decay of near-surface wind caused by surface roughening is not captured by existing theory but can be reproduced by a simple frictional spin-down model, where the decay rate is a function of surface drag coefficient. Finally, the theory is shown to compare well with the prevailing empirical decay model for real-world storms. Overall, results indicate the potential for existing theory to predict how tropical cyclone intensity evolves after landfall.

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Our Understanding of Tropical Cyclone Intensity Change Processes from Airborne Observations

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Robert F. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Intensity Change ◽  
Change Processes ◽  
Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Secondary Eyewall Formation ◽  
Warm Core ◽  
Major Hurricane ◽  
Upper Level

Recent (past ~15 years) advances in our understanding of tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change processes using aircraft data are summarized here. The focus covers a variety of spatiotemporal scales, regions of the TC inner core, and stages of the TC lifecycle, from preformation to major hurricane status. Topics covered include (1) characterizing TC structure and its relationship to intensity change; (2) TC intensification in vertical shear; (3) planetary boundary layer (PBL) processes and air–sea interaction; (4) upper-level warm core structure and evolution; (5) genesis and development of weak TCs; and (6) secondary eyewall formation/eyewall replacement cycles (SEF/ERC). Gaps in our airborne observational capabilities are discussed, as are new observing technologies to address these gaps and future directions for airborne TC intensity change research.

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