| Volumes and Issues Contents of Issue 5 |
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/19159/2009/
doi:10.5194/acpd-9-19159-2009
© Author(s) 2009. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
The genesis of Typhoon Nuri as observed during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field experiment – Part 1: The role of the easterly wave critical layer
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA
Abstract. An observational and real-time model forecast study of the genesis of Typhoon Nuri during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field campaign in the western North Pacific sector is presented. Analysis and observational data show that the surrounding base state flow was an easterly trade wind flow and the precursor disturbance to Typhoon Nuri was an easterly wave that originated in the ITCZ in the Central Pacific and can be tracked more than 10 days prior to tropical storm formation. An overview of the field data is presented here using a newly proposed dynamical framework for tropical cyclone formation within the critical layer of an easterly wave. Despite propagating through a hostile environment ripe with strong vertical wind shear and relatively dry air, the easterly wave critical layer protected the proto-vortex and allowed it to gestate until it reached a more favorable environment. Within this protective "Kelvin's cat's eye flow" located within the wave's critical layer existed a "sweet spot", defined as the intersection between the wave trough and critical latitude, which was the preferred location for tropical cyclogenesis. Global Forecast System Final Analyses and IR satellite imagery, which shows convective bands wrapping around the sweet spot as genesis nears, confirm that this sweet spot is the location where Typhoon Nuri's dominant low-level circulation emerges.
United States Air Force C130 and Naval Research Laboratory P3 research flights on 16 and 17 August collected flight-level, dropwindsonde, and Doppler radar data that allowed an evaluation of the dynamic and thermodynamic processes within the cat's eye. The dropwindsonde analyses identified the precursor easterly wave disturbance on 16 August and identified an area of weak low-level cyclonic circulation on 17 August.
During the TCS-08 experiment "real-time forecasts" were produced in real-time using operational global prediction model data to support scientific missions. These forecasts were found to be useful in flight planning discussions and predicted Nuri's genesis latitude within 1.5° 72 h in advance.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 5698 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 6 Comments) Final Revised Paper (ACP)
Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Montgomery, M. T., Lussier III, L. L., Moore, R. W., and Wang, Z.: The genesis of Typhoon Nuri as observed during the Tropical Cyclone Structure 2008 (TCS-08) field experiment – Part 1: The role of the easterly wave critical layer, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 9, 19159-19203, doi:10.5194/acpd-9-19159-2009, 2009. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
