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Abstract Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) can cause significant societal and economic impacts, as 2019's Dorian serves to remind us of these storms' destructiveness. Decades of effort to understand and predict Atlantic TC activity have improved seasonal forecast skill, but large uncertainties still remain, in part due to an incomplete understanding of the drivers of TC variability. Here we identify an association between the East Asian Subtropical Jet Stream (EASJ) during July–October and the frequency of Atlantic TCs (wind speed ≥34 knot) and hurricanes (wind speed ≥64 knot) during August–November based on observations for 1980–2018. This strong association is tied to the impacts of EASJ on a stationary Rossby wave train emanating from East Asia and the tropical Pacific to the North Atlantic, leading to changes in vertical wind shear in the Atlantic Main Development Region (80–20°W, 10–20°N).
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Factors Associated with the Downshear Reformation of Tropical Cyclones
Abstract The conditions associated with tropical cyclones undergoing downshear reformation are explored for the North Atlantic basin from 1998 to 2020. These storms were compared to analog tropical cyclones with similar intensity, vertical wind shear, and maximum potential intensity, but did not undergo downshear reformation. Storm-centered, shear-relative composites were generated using ERA5 and GridSat-B1 data. Downshear reformation predominately occurs for tropical cyclones of tropical storm intensity embedded in moderate vertical wind shear. A comparison between composites suggests that reformed storms are characterized by greater low-level and midtropospheric relative humidity downshear, larger surface latent heat fluxes downshear and left of shear, and larger low-level equivalent potential temperatures and CAPE right of shear. These factors increase thermodynamic favorability, building a reservoir of potential energy and decreasing dry air entrainment, promoting sustained convection downshear, and favoring the development of a new center. Significance StatementThe development of a new low-level circulation center in tropical cyclones that replaces the original center, called downshear reformation, can affect the structure and intensity of storms, representing a challenge in forecasting tropical cyclones. While there have been a handful of case studies on downshear reformation, this study aims to more comprehensively understand the conditions that favor downshear reformation by comparing a large set of North Atlantic tropical cyclones that underwent reformation with a similar set of tropical cyclones that did not undergo reformation. Tropical cyclones that undergo reformation have a moister environment, larger surface evaporation, and higher low-level instability in specific regions that help sustain deep, downshear convection that favors the development of a new center.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2225604
- PAR ID:
- 10468860
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Meteorological Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Weather Review
- Volume:
- 151
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 0027-0644
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 2717-2737
- Size(s):
- p. 2717-2737
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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