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Recent research has found that diurnal pulses are ubiquitous features of tropical cyclones. To gain further insight into the characteristics of these pulses, a case study of an electrically active (ACT) cooling pulse and an off-the-clock ACT cooling pulse that occurred in Hurricane Harvey (2017) was conducted. Using GridSat-B1 IR brightness temperatures, World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) lightning data, the 85–91-GHz channels on microwave satellite imagers, and Level-II Doppler radar reflectivity data from WSR-88D stations (i.e., NEXRAD), these pulses were found to share many similar characteristics: both propagated outward on the right-of-shear side of Harvey and were associated with elevated cloud ice content and high reflectivity. Additionally, using HRRR model output, both pulses were found to be associated with 1) column-deep total condensate, 2) a surface cold pool, 3) an overturning circulation, and 4) an enhanced low-level jet. These characteristics are similar to those found in tropical squall lines, supporting the tropical squall-line interpretation of diurnal pulses put forth in recent studies. A hypothesis for ACT pulse initiation was then introduced, tested, and confirmed: inner rainbands that propagated outward into a more favorable environment for deep convection reinvigorated into ACT pulses that had tropical squall-line characteristics.
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Electrically Active Tropical Cyclone Diurnal Pulses in the Atlantic Basin
While the frequency and structure of Atlantic basin tropical cyclone diurnal cooling and warming pulses have recently been explored, how often diurnal pulses are associated with deep convection was left unanswered. Here, storm-relative, GridSat-B1, 6-h IR brightness temperature difference fields were supplemented with World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) data to answer that question. Electrically active, long-lived cooling and warming pulses were defined objectively by determining critical thresholds for the lightning flash density, areal coverage, and longevity within each pulse. Pulses with lightning occurred 61% of the time, with persistently electrically active pulses (≥9 h, ACT) occurring on 38% of pulse days and quasi–electrically active pulses (3–6 h, QUASI) occurring on 23% of pulse days. Electrically inactive pulses (<3 h, INACT) occurred 39% of the time. ACT pulse days had more pulses located right-of-shear, the preferred quadrant for outer-rainband lightning activity, and were associated with more favorable environmental conditions than INACT pulse days. Cooling pulses were more likely to occur in lower-shear environments while warming pulses were more likely to occur in high-shear environments. Finally, while the propagation speeds of ACT and INACT cooling pulses and ACT warming pulses did lend support to the recent gravity wave and tropical squall-line explanations of diurnal pulses, the INACT warming pulses did not and should be studied further.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1636799
- PAR ID:
- 10151207
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Weather Review
- Volume:
- 147
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 0027-0644
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 3595 to 3607
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-19-0129.1
