Multiscale analysis of tropical cyclone kinematic structure from airborne doppler radar composites

Monthly Weather Review

Volumn 140, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 77-99

  Rogers, Robert ^a   Lorsolo, Sylvie ^b   Reasor, Paul ^a   Gamache, John ^a   Marks, Frank ^a  

^a ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC AND METEOROLOGICAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI   (United States)

Author keywords

Aircraft observations; Hurricanes; Radars Radar observations

Indexed keywords

AIRBORNE DATA; AIRBORNE DOPPLER RADAR; AIRCRAFT OBSERVATIONS; AXISYMMETRIC; AXISYMMETRIC VORTEX; DIVERGENCE FIELD; EYEWALL; HURRICANE BOUNDARY LAYERS; KINEMATIC STRUCTURES; LAYER AND REGION; MULTI SCALE ANALYSIS; MULTISCALES; RADIAL VARIATIONS; RADIAL WINDS; RAINBANDS; SECONDARY CIRCULATION; SECONDARY PEAK; STRATIFORM PRECIPITATION; TANGENTIAL WIND; TROPICAL CYCLONE; TURBULENT KINETIC ENERGY; VARIANCE FIELDS; VERTICAL VELOCITY; VORTEX SCALE; VORTICITY DISTRIBUTION;

DOPPLER RADAR; KINETIC ENERGY; NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS; REFLECTION; STORMS; VORTEX FLOW; VORTICITY;

HURRICANES;

AIRBORNE SURVEY; CONVECTIVE SYSTEM; KINEMATICS; OBSERVATIONAL METHOD; RAINBAND; TROPICAL CYCLONE; TURBULENT FLOW; UPDRAFT; VORTEX FLOW; VORTICITY;

EID: 84855790445     PISSN: 00270644     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1175/MWR-D-10-05075.1     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. Aberson, S. D., M. L. Black, R. A. Black, J. J. Cione, C. W. Landsea, F. D. Marks, and R. W. Burpee, 2006a: Thirty years of tropical cyclone research with the NOAA P-3 aircraft. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 1039-1055.
2. Aberson, S. D., M. L. Black, M. T. Montgomery, and M. Bell, 2006b: Hurricane Isabel (2003): New insights into the physics of intense storms. Part II: Extreme localized wind. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 1349-1354.
3. Baker, A. K., M. D. Parker, and M. D. Eastin, 2009: Environmental ingredients for supercells and tornadoes within Hurricane Ivan. Wea. Forecasting, 24, 223-244.
4. Barnes, G. M., and M. D. Powell, 1995: Evolution of the inflow boundary layer of Hurricane Gilbert (1988). Mon. Wea. Rev., 123, 2348-2368.
5. Barnes, G. M., E. J. Zipser, D. Jorgensen, and F. Marks Jr., 1983: Mesoscale and convective structure of a hurricane rainband. J. Atmos. Sci., 40, 2125-2137.
6. Bell, M. M., and M. T. Montgomery, 2008: Observed structure, evolution, and potential intensity of category 5 Hurricane Isabel (2003) from 12 to 14 September. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 2023-2046.
7. Black, M. L., R. W. Burpee, and F. D. Marks Jr., 1996: Vertical motion characteristics of tropical cyclones determined with airborne Doppler radial velocities. J. Atmos. Sci., 53, 1887-1909.
8. Black, M. L., J. F. Gamache, F. D. Marks, C. E. Samsury, and H. E. Willoughby, 2002: Eastern Pacific Hurricanes Jimena of 1991 and Olivia of 1994: The effect of vertical shear on structure and intensity. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 2291-2312.
9. Black, P. G., and Coauthors, 2007: Air-sea exchange in hurricanes: Synthesis of observations from the Coupled Boundary Layer Air-Sea Transfer Experiment. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 88, 357-374.
10. Braun, S. A., 2002: A cloud-resolving simulation of Hurricane Bob (1991): Storm structure and eyewall buoyancy. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 1573-1592.
11. Braun, S. A., M. T. Montgomery, K. J. Mallen, and P. D. Reasor, 2010: Simulation and interpretation of the genesis of Tropical Storm Gert (2005) as part of the NASA Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes Experiment. J. Atmos. Sci., 67, 999-1025.
12. Cecil, D. J., E. J. Zipser, and S. W. Nesbitt, 2002: Reflectivity, ice scattering, and lightning characteristics of hurricane eyewalls and rainbands. Part I: Quantitative description. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 769-784.
13. Cione, J. J., P. G. Black, and S. H. Houston, 2000: Surface observations in the hurricane environment. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 1550-1561.
14. Didlake, A. C., and R. A.Houze, 2009: Convective-scale downdrafts in the principal rainband of Hurricane Katrina (2005). Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 3269-3293.
15. Dodge, P., R. W. Burpee, and F. D. Marks Jr., 1999: The kinematic structure of a hurricanewith sea level pressure less than 900 mb. Mon. Wea. Rev., 127, 987-1004.
16. Drennan, W. M., J. A. Zhang, J. R. French, C. McCormick, and P. G. Black, 2007: Turbulent fluxes in the hurricane boundary layer. Part II: Latent heat flux. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1103-1115.
17. Eastin, M. D., and M. C. Link, 2009: Miniature supercells in an offshore outer rainband of Hurricane Ivan (2004). Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 2081-2104.
18. Eastin, M. D., W. M. Gray, and P. G. Black, 2005a: Buoyancy of convective vertical motions in the inner core of intense hurricanes. Part I: General statistics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 188-208.
19. Eastin, M. D., W. M. Gray, and P. G. Black, 2005b: Buoyancy of convective vertical motions in the inner core of intense hurricanes. Part II: Case studies. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 209-227.
20. Emanuel, K. A., 1986: An air-sea interaction theory for tropical cyclones. Part I: Steady-state maintenance. J. Atmos. Sci., 43, 585-605.
21. Emanuel, K. A., 1995: Sensitivity of tropical cyclones to surface exchange coefficients and a revised steady-state model incorporating eye dynamics. J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 3969-3976.
22. Fierro, A. O., R. F. Rogers, F. D. Marks, and D. S. Nolan, 2009: The impact of horizontal grid spacing on the microphysical and kinematic structures of strong tropical cyclones simulated with the WRF-ARW model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 3717-3743.
23. Frank, W. M., 1982: Large-scale characteristics of tropical cyclones. Mon. Wea. Rev., 110, 572-586.
24. Franklin, J. L., S. J. Lord, S. E. Feuer, and F. D. Marks, 1993: The kinematic structure of Hurricane Gloria (1985) determined from nested analyses of dropwindsonde and Doppler radar data. Mon. Wea. Rev., 121, 2433-2451.
25. Franklin, J. L., M. L. Black, and K. Valde, 2003: GPS dropwindsonde wind profiles in hurricanes and their operational implications. Wea. Forecasting, 18, 32-44.
26. Gamache, J. F., 1997: Evaluation of a fully three-dimensional variational Doppler analysis technique. Preprints, 28th Conf. on Radar Meteorology, Austin, TX, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 422-423.
27. Gamache, J. F., R. A. Houze Jr., and F. D. Marks Jr., 1993: Dual-aircraft investigation of the inner core of Hurricane Norbert. Part III: Water budget. J. Atmos. Sci., 50, 3221-3243.
28. Gao, J., M. Xue, A. Shapiro, and K. K. Droegemeier, 1999: A variational method for the analysis of three-dimensional wind fields from two Doppler radars. Mon. Wea. Rev., 127, 2128-2142.
29. Gray, W. M., and D. J. Shea, 1973: The hurricane's inner core region. II. Thermal stability and dynamic characteristics. J. Atmos. Sci., 30, 1565-1576.
30. Hence, D. A., and R. A. Houze Jr., 2008: Kinematic structure of convective-scale elements in the rainbands of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005). J. Geophys. Res., 113, D15108, doi:10.1029/2007JD009429.
31. Houze, R. A., Jr., F. D. Marks Jr., and R. A. Black, 1992: Dualaircraft investigation of the inner core of Hurricane Norbert. Part II: Mesoscale distribution of ice particles. J. Atmos. Sci., 49, 943-963.
32. Houze, R. A., and Coauthors, 2006: The Hurricane Rainband and Intensity Change Experiment: Observations and modeling of Hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, and Rita. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 1503-1521.
33. Houze, R. A., S. S. Chen, B. F. Smull, W.-C. Lee, and M. M. Bell, 2007: Hurricane intensity and eyewall replacement. Science, 315, 1235-1239.
34. Houze, R. A., W.-C. Lee, and M. M. Bell, 2009: Convective contribution to the genesis of Hurricane Ophelia (2005). Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 2778-2800.
35. Jorgensen, D. P., 1984: Mesoscale and convective-scale characteristics of mature hurricanes. Part I: General observations by research aircraft. J. Atmos. Sci., 41, 1268-1286.
36. Jorgensen, D. P., E. J. Zipser, and M. LeMone, 1985: Vertical motions in intense hurricanes. J. Atmos. Sci., 42, 839-856.
37. Kossin, J. P., and M. D. Eastin, 2001: Two distinct regimes in the kinematic and thermodynamic structure of the hurricane eye and eyewall. J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 1079-1090.
38. Lee, W.-C., and F. D. Marks Jr., 2000: Tropical cyclone kinematic structure retrieved from single-Doppler radar observations. Part II: The GBVTD-simplex center finding algorithm. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 1925-1936.
39. Lorsolo, S., J. L. Schroeder, P. Dodge, and F. Marks, 2008: An observational study of hurricane boundary layer small-scale coherent structures. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 2871-2893.
40. Lorsolo, S., J. Zhang, F. D. Marks, and J. Gamache, 2010: Estimation and mapping of hurricane turbulent energy using airborne Doppler measurements. Mon. Wea. Rev., 138, 3656-3670.
41. Malkus, J. S., 1958: On the structure and maintenance of the mature hurricane eye. J. Meteor., 15, 337-349.
42. Malkus, J. S., and H. Riehl, 1960: On the dynamics and energy transformations in steady state hurricanes. Tellus, 12, 1-20.
43. Mallen, K. J., M. T. Montgomery, and B. Wang, 2005: Reexamining the near-core radial structure of the tropical cyclone primary circulation: Implications for vortex resiliency. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 408-425.
44. Marks, F. D., Jr., 1985: Evolution of the structure of precipitation in Hurricane Allen (1980). Mon. Wea. Rev., 113, 909-930.
45. Marks, F. D., Jr., and R. A. Houze Jr., 1987: Inner core structure of Hurricane Alicia from airborne Doppler radar observations. J. Atmos. Sci., 44, 1296-1317.
46. Marks, F. D., Jr., and L. K. Shay, 1998: Landfalling tropical cyclones: Forecast problems and associated research opportunities. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 79, 305-323.
47. Marks, F. D., Jr., R. A. Houze Jr., and J. F. Gamache, 1992: Dual-aircraft investigation of the inner core of Hurricane Norbert. Part I: Kinematic structure. J. Atmos. Sci., 49, 919-942.
48. Marks, F. D., Jr., P. G. Black, M. T. Montgomery, and R. W. Burpee, 2008: Structure of the eye and eyewall of Hurricane Hugo (1989). Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 1237-1259.
49. McTaggart-Cowan, R., L. F. Bosart, J. R. Gyakum, and E. H. Atallah, 2007: Hurricane Katrina (2005). Part I: Complex life cycle of an intense tropical cyclone. Mon. Wea. Rev., 135, 3905-3926.
50. Montgomery, M. T., and R. J. Kallenbach, 1997: A theory for vortex Rossby waves and its application to spiral bands and intensity changes in hurricanes. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 123, 435-465.
51. Montgomery, M. T., M. M. Bell, S. D. Aberson, and M. L. Black, 2006a: Hurricane Isabel (2003): New insights into the physics of intense storms. Part I: Mean vortex structure and maximum intensity estimates. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 1335-1347.
52. Montgomery, M. T., M. Nicholls, T. Cram, and A. Saunders, 2006b: A "vortical" hot tower route to tropical cyclogenesis. J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 355-386.
53. Neldar, J. A., and R. Mead, 1965: A simplex method for function minimization. Comput. J., 7, 308-313.
54. Ooyama, K., 1982: Conceptual evolution of the theory and modeling of the tropical cyclone. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 60, 369-380.
55. Powell, M. D., 1990: Boundary layer structure and dynamics in outer rainbands. Part II: Downdraft modification and mixed layer recovery. Mon. Wea. Rev., 118, 919-938.
56. Reasor, P. D., M. T. Montgomery, F. D. Marks Jr., and J. F. Gamache, 2000: Low-wavenumber structure and evolution of the hurricane inner core observed by airborne dual-Doppler radar. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 1653-1680.
57. Reasor, P. D., M. T. Montgomery, and L. F. Bosart, 2005: Mesoscale observations of the genesis of Hurricane Dolly (1996). J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 3151-3171.
58. Reasor, P. D., M. D. Eastin, and J. F. Gamache, 2009: Rapidly intensifying Hurricane Guillermo (1997). Part I: Low-wavenumber structure and evolution. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 603-631.
59. Riemer, M., M. T. Montgomery, and M. E. Nicholls, 2010: A new paradigm for intensity modification of tropical cyclones: thermodynamic impact of vertical wind shear on the inflow layer. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 3163-3188.
60. Rogers, R. F., 2010: Convective-scale structure and evolution during a high-resolution simulation of tropical cyclone rapid intensification. J. Atmos. Sci., 67, 44-70.
61. Rogers, R. F., and E. Uhlhorn, 2008: Observations of the structure and evolution of surface and flight-level wind asymmetries in Hurricane Rita (2005). Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L22811, doi:10.1029/2008GL034774.
62. Rogers, R. F., S. S. Chen, J. Tenerelli, and H. E. Willoughby, 2003: A numerical study of the impact of vertical shear on the distribution of rainfall in Hurricane Bonnie (1998). Mon. Wea. Rev., 131, 1577-1599.
63. Rogers, R. F., and Coauthors, 2006: The Intensity Forecasting Experiment (IFEX): A NOAA multi-year field program for improving tropical cyclone intensity forecasts. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 1523-1537.
64. Rogers, R. F., M. L. Black, S. S. Chen, and R. A. Black, 2007: An evaluation of microphysics fields from mesoscale model simulations of tropical cyclones. Part I: Comparisons with observations. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1811-1834.
65. Rotunno, R., and K. A. Emanuel, 1987: An air-sea interaction theory for tropical cyclones. Part II: Evolutionary study using a nonhydrostatic axisymmetric numerical model. J. Atmos. Sci., 44, 542-561.
66. Shea, D. J., and W. M. Gray, 1973: The hurricane's inner core region. I. Symmetric and asymmetric structure. J. Atmos. Sci., 30, 1544-1564.
67. Simpson, J., J. B. Halverson, B. S. Ferrier, W. A. Petersen, R. H. Simpson, R. Blakeslee, and S. L. Durden, 1998: On the role of "hot towers" in tropical cyclone formation. Meteor. Atmos. Phys., 67, 15-35.
68. Sitkowski, M., and G. M. Barnes, 2009: Low-level thermodynamic, kinematic, and reflectivity fields ofHurricane Guillermo (1997) during rapid intensification. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 645-663.
69. Smith, R. K., and M. T. Montgomery, 2010: Hurricane boundarylayer theory. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 136, 1665-1670.
70. Smith, R. K., M. T. Montgomery, and H. Zhu, 2005: Buoyancy in tropical cyclones and other rapidly rotating atmospheric vortices. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans, 40, 189-208.
71. Squires, K., and S. Businger, 2008: The morphology of eyewall lightning outbreaks in two category 5 hurricanes. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 1706-1726.
72. Stern, D. P., and D. S. Nolan, 2009: Reexamining the vertical structure of tangential winds in tropical cyclones: Observations and theory. J. Atmos. Sci., 66, 3579-3600.
73. Terwey, W. D., and M. T. Montgomery, 2008: Secondary eyewall formation in two idealized, full-physics modeled hurricanes. J. Geophys. Res., 113, D12112, doi:10.1029/2007JD008897.
74. Uhlhorn, E. W., and P. G. Black, 2003: Verification of remotely sensed sea surface winds in hurricanes. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 20, 99-116.
75. Uhlhorn, E. W., P. G. Black, J. L. Franklin, M. Goodberlet, J. Carswell, and A. S. Goldstein, 2007: Hurricane surface wind measurements from an operational stepped frequency microwave radiometer. Mon. Wea. Rev., 135, 3070-3085.
76. Willoughby, H. E., 1998: Tropical cyclone eye thermodynamics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 3053-3067.
77. Willoughby, H. E., J. A. Clos, and M. G. Shoreibah, 1982: Concentric eye walls, secondary wind maxima, and the evolution of the hurricane vortex. J. Atmos. Sci., 39, 395-411.
78. Yuter, S. E., and R. A. Houze Jr., 1995: Three-dimensional kinematic and microphysical evolution of Florida cumulonimbus. Part II: Frequency distributions of vertical velocity, reflectivity, and differential reflectivity. Mon. Wea. Rev., 123, 1941-1963.
79. Zhang, J. A., R. F. Rogers, D. S. Nolan, and F. D. Marks Jr., 2011a: On the characteristic height scales of the hurricane boundary layer. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 2523-2535.
80. Zhang, J. A., F. D. Marks Jr., M. T. Montgomery, and S. Lorsolo, 2011b: An estimation of turbulent characteristics in the low-level region of intense Hurricanes Allen (1980) and Hugo (1989). Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 1447-1462.