scholarly journals Environmental influences on the intensity changes of tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 6329-6342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoujuan Shu ◽  
Fuqing Zhang ◽  
Jie Ming ◽  
Yuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
Maximum Wind ◽  
Intensity Changes

Abstract. The influence of environmental conditions on the intensity changes of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) is investigated through examination of 37 TCs during 2000–2011 that interacted directly with the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH). Comprehensive composite analysis of the environmental conditions is performed for two stages of storms: one is categorized as intensifying events (maximum wind speed increases by 15 kn over 48 h) and the other is categorized as weakening events (maximum wind speed decreases by 15 kn over 48 h). Comparison of the composite analysis of these two cases show that environmental conditions associated with the WNPSH play important roles in the intensity changes of TCs over the WNP. When a TC moves along the southern periphery of the WNPSH, the relatively weaker easterly environmental vertical wind shear helps bring warm moist air from the south and southeast to its southeast quadrant within 500 km, which is favorable for the TC to intensify. However, when a TC moves along the western edge of the WNPSH, under the combined influences of the WNPSH and an upper-level westerly trough, a strong westerly vertical shear promotes the intrusion of dry environmental air associated with the WNPSH from the north and northwest, which may lead to the inhibition of moisture supply and convection over the western half of the TC and thus its weakening. These composite results are consistent with those with additional geographic restrictions, suggesting that the dry air intrusion and the vertical wind shear (VWS) associated with the WNPSH, indeed affect the intensity changes of TCs over the WNP beyond the difference related solely to variations in geographical locations. The average sea surface temperature (SST) of 27.6 °C for the weakening events is also lower than an average of 28.9 °C for the strengthening events, but remains above the critical value of 27 °C for TC intensification, suggesting that the SST may be regarded as a less positive factor for the weakening events.

scholarly journals Environmental influences on the intensity changes of tropical cyclones over the Western North Pacific

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 31815-31853
Author(s):  
Shoujuan Shu ◽  
Fuqing Zhang ◽  
Jie Ming ◽  
Yuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
The Other ◽  
Maximum Wind Speed ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
Maximum Wind ◽  
Intensity Changes

Abstract. The influence of environmental conditions on the intensity changes of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) is investigated through examination of 37 TCs during 2000–2011 that interacted directly with the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH). Comprehensive composite analysis of the environmental conditions is performed for two stages of storms: one is categorized as intensifying events (maximum wind speed increases by 15 kts over 48 h) and the other is categorized as weakening events (maximum wind speed decreases by 15 kts over 48 h). Comparison of the composite analysis of these two cases show that environmental conditions associated with the WNPSH play important roles in the intensity changes of TCs over the WNP. When a TC moves along the southern edge of the WNPSH, the relatively weaker easterly environmental vertical wind shear helps bring warm moist air from the south and southeast, which is favorable for the TC to intensify. On the other hand, when a TC moves along the western edge of the WNPSH, under the combined influences of the WNPSH and an upper-level westerly trough, a strong westerly vertical shear promotes the intrusion of dry environmental air associated with the WNPSH from the north and northwest, which may lead to the inhibition of moisture supply and convection over the west half of the TC and thus its weakening. The average sea surface temperature (SST) of 27.8 °C for the weakening events is also lower than an average of 28.9 °C for the strengthening events, but remains above the critical value of 27 °C for TC intensification, suggesting that the SST may be regarded as a less positive factor for the weakening events.

scholarly journals The Lightning Distribution of Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (11) ◽  
pp. 4415-4434
Author(s):  
Shu-Jeng Lin ◽  
Kun-Hsuan Chou
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Outer Region ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Vertical Wind ◽  
Intensity Changes

AbstractThis study examines the characteristics of tropical cyclone (TC) lightning distribution and its relationship with TC intensity and environmental vertical wind shear (VWS) over the western North Pacific. It uses data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network and operational global analysis data from National Centers for Environmental Prediction Final Analysis for 230 TCs during 2005–17. The spatial distribution of TC lightning frequency and normalized lightning rate demonstrates that the VWS dominates the azimuthal distribution of the lightning. The flashes are active in the downshear-left side of the inner core and the downshear-right side of the outer region. TC lightning distribution for various VWS strengths and TC intensities are further investigated. As VWS increases, the flashes of lightning become more asymmetric and exhibit a higher proportion at the outer region of the downshear side. Moreover, the same features occur as TC intensity decreases. A series of composite analyses indicated that stronger TCs with weaker VWS exhibit a more compact and symmetric lightning distribution, whereas weaker TCs with stronger VWS have a more asymmetric lightning distribution. Furthermore, the TC lightning distribution and its association with TC intensity changes are also examined for three lead times. Results show that among the composite analyses of five TC intensity changes, the lightning distribution for rapid intensification type exhibits more inner-core lightning and is more axisymmetric than the distributions for other categories. These features result from favorable environmental conditions comprising greater upper-level divergence, sea surface temperature, maximum potential intensity, and weaker vertical wind shear.

scholarly journals Changes in Characteristics of Rapidly Intensifying Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclones Related to Climate Regime Shifts

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (19) ◽  
pp. 8163-8179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haikun Zhao ◽  
Xingyi Duan ◽  
G. B. Raga ◽  
Philip J. Klotzbach
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Regime Shift ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Wind ◽  
Rapid Intensification ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Climate Regime Shift

A significant increase in the proportion of tropical cyclones undergoing rapid intensification at least once during their lifetime (RITCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) is observed since 1998 when an abrupt climate regime shift occurred. Changes of large-scale atmospheric and oceanic conditions affecting TC activity are compared between two subperiods: one before and one since 1998. Results suggest that both a significant decrease in the number of TCs and a nearly unchanged number of RITCs since 1998 caused a significant increase in the frequency of RITCs. The decrease in TC numbers is likely driven by considerably increased vertical wind shear and decreased low-level vorticity. In contrast, the unchanged RITC counts and thus increased ratio of RITCs during the recent decades are largely attributed to the dominance of a more conducive ocean environment with increased TC heat potential and warmer sea surface temperature anomalies. These associated decadal changes are closely associated with the recent climate regime shift. During the recent decades with a mega–La Niña–like pattern, stronger easterly trade winds have caused increased vertical wind shear and a weakened monsoon trough, thus hampering TC formation ability over the WNP. In addition, a steeper thermocline slope that hampered the eastward migration of warm water along the equatorial Pacific has generated a more favorable thermodynamic environment supporting TC rapid intensification over the WNP.

scholarly journals Dynamically Derived Tropical Cyclone Intensity Changes over the Western North Pacific

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liguang Wu ◽  
Haikun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Vertical Wind ◽  
China Meteorological Administration ◽  
Cyclone Intensity ◽  
Intensity Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The study of the impact of global warming on tropical cyclone (TC) intensity is subject to uncertainty in historical datasets, especially in the western North Pacific (WNP) basin, where conflicting results have been found with the TC datasets archived in different organizations. In this study the basinwide TC intensity in the WNP basin is derived dynamically with a TC intensity model, based on the track data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) of Tokyo, and the Shanghai Typhoon Institute (STI) of the China Meteorological Administration. The dynamically derived TC intensity is compared to the three datasets and used to investigate trends in TC intensity. The associated contributions of changes in SST, vertical wind shear, and prevailing tracks are also examined. The evolution of the basinwide TC intensity in the JTWC best-track dataset can be generally reproduced over the period 1975–2007. Dynamically derived data based on the JTWC, RSMC, and STI track datasets all show an increasing trend in the peak intensity and frequency of intense typhoons, mainly because of the combined effect of changes in SST and vertical wind shear. This study suggests that the increasing intensity trend in the JTWC dataset is real, but that it may be overestimated. In contrast, the TC intensity trends in the RSMC and STI intensity datasets are dynamically inconsistent. Numerical simulations also suggest that the frequency of intense typhoons is more sensitive to changes in SST and vertical wind shear than the peak and average intensities defined in previous studies.

scholarly journals Climatic Variation of Maximum Intensification Rate for Major Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 494
Author(s):  
Xiangbai Wu ◽  
Xiao-Hai Yan ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Huan Mei ◽  
Yuei-An Liou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Maximum Acceleration ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Scale Category

To analyze the dependence of intensification rates of tropical cyclones (TCs) on the variation of environmental conditions, an index is proposed here to measure the lifetime maximum intensification rates (LMIRs) for the Saffir–Simpson scale category 4–5 TCs over the western North Pacific. To quantitatively describe the intensification rate of major TCs, the LMIR is defined as the maximum acceleration in the sustained-wind-speed over a 24-h period of an overwater TC. This new index, LMIR, is generally independent of the indices for RI frequency. The results show that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) modulates the inter-annual relationship between the LMIR and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The PDO’s modulation on the ENSO’s effect on the LMIR is explored here by considering the relationship between the LMIR and the environmental conditions in different PDO phases. While the ENSO’s effect on the LMIR for the warm PDO phase is generally by affecting the variations of upper ocean heat content, ENSO mainly influences the variations of zonal wind and vertical wind shear for the cold PDO phase. Our results suggest that fast translating TCs tend to attain strong intensification during the warm PDO phase, while a warm subsurface condition may permit slow-translating TCs also to become strongly intensified during the cooling PDO phase. These findings have an important implication for both prediction of RI and the long-term projection of TC activities in the western North Pacific.

scholarly journals Multidecadal Variability of Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification in the Western North Pacific

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 3806-3820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xidong Wang ◽  
Chunzai Wang ◽  
Liping Zhang ◽  
Xin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Trade Wind ◽  
Rapid Intensification ◽  
Multidecadal Variability ◽  
Heat Potential

Abstract This study investigates the variation of tropical cyclone (TC) rapid intensification (RI) in the western North Pacific (WNP) and its relationship with large-scale climate variability. RI events have exhibited strikingly multidecadal variability. During the warm (cold) phase of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), the annual RI number is generally lower (higher) and the average location of RI occurrence tends to shift southeastward (northwestward). The multidecadal variations of RI are associated with the variations of large-scale ocean and atmosphere variables such as sea surface temperature (SST), tropical cyclone heat potential (TCHP), relative humidity (RHUM), and vertical wind shear (VWS). It is shown that their variations on multidecadal time scales depend on the evolution of the PDO phase. The easterly trade wind is strengthened during the cold PDO phase at low levels, which tends to make equatorial warm water spread northward into the main RI region rsulting from meridional ocean advection associated with Ekman transport. Simultaneously, an anticyclonic wind anomaly is formed in the subtropical gyre of the WNP. This therefore may deepen the depth of the 26°C isotherm and directly increase TCHP over the main RI region. These thermodynamic effects associated with the cold PDO phase greatly support RI occurrence. The reverse is true during the warm PDO phase. The results also indicate that the VWS variability in the low wind shear zone along the monsoon trough may not be critical for the multidecadal modulation of RI events.

scholarly journals Environmental Factors Affecting Tropical Cyclone Power Dissipation

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 5497-5509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Emanuel
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Wind Shear ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Strongly Correlated

Abstract Revised estimates of kinetic energy production by tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and western North Pacific are presented. These show considerable variability on interannual-to-multidecadal time scales. In the Atlantic, variability on time scales of a few years and more is strongly correlated with tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature, while in the western North Pacific, this correlation, while still present, is considerably weaker. Using a combination of basic theory and empirical statistical analysis, it is shown that much of the variability in both ocean basins can be explained by variations in potential intensity, low-level vorticity, and vertical wind shear. Potential intensity variations are in turn factored into components related to variations in net surface radiation, thermodynamic efficiency, and average surface wind speed. In the Atlantic, potential intensity, low-level vorticity, and vertical wind shear strongly covary and are also highly correlated with sea surface temperature, at least during the period in which reanalysis products are considered reliable. In the Pacific, the three factors are not strongly correlated. The relative contributions of the three factors are quantified, and implications for future trends and variability of tropical cyclone activity are discussed.

scholarly journals Strong Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Occurrence of Intense Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (19) ◽  
pp. 7739-7749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Gao ◽  
Langfeng Zhu ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Zhifan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Vertical Wind Shear ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Main Development ◽  
Development Region ◽  
Meridional Mode ◽  
Pacific Meridional Mode

This study finds a significant positive correlation between the Pacific meridional mode (PMM) index and the frequency of intense tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) during the peak TC season (June–November). The PMM influences the occurrence of intense TCs mainly by modulating large-scale dynamical conditions over the main development region. During the positive PMM phase, anomalous off-equatorial heating in the eastern Pacific induces anomalous low-level westerlies (and cyclonic flow) and upper-level easterlies (and anticyclonic flow) over a large portion of the main development region through a Matsuno–Gill-type Rossby wave response. The resulting weaker vertical wind shear and larger low-level relative vorticity favor the genesis of intense TCs over the southeastern part of the WNP and their subsequent intensification over the main development region. The PMM index would therefore be a valuable predictor for the frequency of intense TCs over the WNP.

scholarly journals Structural and Intensity Changes of Concentric Eyewall Typhoons in the Western North Pacific Basin

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (8) ◽  
pp. 2632-2648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Ting Yang ◽  
Hung-Chi Kuo ◽  
Eric A. Hendricks ◽  
Melinda S. Peng
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Intensity Changes ◽  
North Pacific Basin ◽  
Replacement Cycle

Abstract An objective method is developed to identify concentric eyewalls (CEs) for typhoons using passive microwave satellite imagery from 1997 to 2011 in the western North Pacific basin. Three CE types are identified: a CE with an eyewall replacement cycle (ERC; 37 cases), a CE with no replacement cycle (NRC; 17 cases), and a CE that is maintained for an extended period (CEM; 16 cases). The inner eyewall (outer eyewall) of the ERC (NRC) type dissipates within 20 h after CE formation. The CEM type has its CE structure maintained for more than 20 h (mean duration time is 31 h). Structural and intensity changes of CE typhoons are demonstrated using a T–Vmax diagram (where T is the brightness temperature and Vmax is the best-track estimated intensity) for a time sequence of the intensity and convective activity (CA) relationship. While the intensity of typhoons in the ERC and CEM cases weakens after CE formation, the CA is maintained or increases. In contrast, the CA weakens in the NRC cases. The NRC (CEM) cases typically have fast (slow) northward translational speeds and encounter large (small) vertical shear and low (high) sea surface temperatures. The CEM cases have a relatively high intensity (63 m s−1), and the moat size (61 km) and outer eyewall width (70 km) are approximately 50% larger than the other two categories. Both the internal dynamics and environmental conditions are important in the CEM cases, while the NRC cases are heavily influenced by the environment. The ERC cases may be dominated by the internal dynamics because of more uniform environmental conditions.

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