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Large Intensity Changes in Tropical Cyclones: a Case Study of Supertyphoon Flo During TCM-90

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Large Intensity Changes in Tropical Cyclones: a Case Study of Supertyphoon Flo During TCM-90 3556 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW VOLUME 128 Large Intensity Changes in Tropical Cyclones: A Case Study of Supertyphoon Flo during TCM-90 DAVID W. T ITLEY AND RUSSELL L. ELSBERRY Department of Meteorology, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California (Manuscript received 5 November 1998, in ®nal form 5 May 1999) ABSTRACT A unique dataset, recorded during the rapid intensi®cation and rapid decay of Typhoon Flo, is analyzed to isolate associated environmental conditions and key physical processes. This case occurred during the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-90) ®eld experiment with enhanced observations, especially in the upper troposphere beyond about 300 km. These data have been analyzed with a four-dimensional data assimilation technique and a multiquadric interpolation technique. While both the ocean thermal structure and vertical wind shear are favorable, they do not explain the rapid intensi®cation or the rapid decay. A preconditioning phase is de®ned in which several interrelated factors combine to create favorable conditions: (i) a cyclonic wind burst occurs at 200 mb, (ii) vertical wind shear between 300 and 150 mb decreases 35%, (iii) the warm core is displaced upward, and (iv) 200-mb out¯ow becomes larger in the 400±1200-km radial band, while a layer of in¯ow develops below this out¯ow. These conditions appear to be forced by eddy ¯ux convergence (EFC) of angular momentum, which appears to act in a catalyst function as proposed by Pfeffer and colleagues, because the EFC then decreases to small values during the rapid intensi®cation stage. Similarly, the outer secondary circulation decreases during this stage, so that the rapid intensi®cation appears to be an internal (within 300 km) adjustment process that is perhaps triggered during the preconditioning phase. Rapid decay occurred over open ocean when the environmental factors of ocean thermal structure, and vertical wind shear, positive 200-mb EFC, and vigorous out¯ow into the midlatitudes appear favorable. However, the EFC extending down to 500 mb and inducing a second shallower secondary circulation is hypothesized to account for the rapid decay by leading to a less ef®cient energy conversion. 1. Introduction ms21). Such large errors in a TC intensifying close to a coast could mean that the public would not have time The problems of understanding and predicting trop- to prepare. ical cyclone (TC) intensity have been highlighted in the It is particularly important to forecast accurately the American Meteorological Society's Symposium on most intense TCs, since it has been estimated (Pielke Tropical Cyclone Intensity Change in Phoenix, Arizona, and Landsea 1998) that 80% of the damage in land- during January 1998. Thirteen keynote papers and 31 falling U.S. hurricanes is caused by TCs with Saf®r± other contributions summarized the present state of Simpson categories of 3±5. It has been known for some knowledge on TC intensity change. Other than being a time that these most intense TCs will have experienced fascinating and challenging scienti®c problem, an ac- at least one period of rapid intensi®cation. For example, curate intensity prediction is an important factor in the Holland (1984) found intense TCs in the Australian re- warnings of landfalling TCs (Marks and Shay 1998; gion typically intensify at twice the rate, and for three Elsberry and Marks 1998). In general, slow intensi®- times as long, as minimal hurricane-strength systems. cation of TCs is predicted by the U.S. National Hurri- Thus, the focus should be on understanding and pre- cane Center reasonably well (M. DeMaria 1997, per- dicting these periods of rapid intensi®cation. sonal communication), with mean 24-h intensity fore- It is also of interest to understand and predict the 21 cast errors of about 10 kt (5 m s ). However, rapid rapid decreases in TC intensity. The case of Hurricane intensity changes are not predicted well, with 5% of the Opal that rapidly weakened just prior to striking the 24-h intensity forecasts with errors exceeding 40 kt (20 Gulf of Mexico coast is the focus of many of the papers in the TC intensity change symposium. Although it is fortunate in terms of the potential damage that is avert- ed, credibility of the forecasts can suffer if such large Corresponding author address: Prof. Russell L. Elsberry, Depart- ment of Meteorology, Code MR/Es, Naval Postgraduate School, 589 intensity decreases are not predicted well. Dyer Rd., Room 254, Monterey, CA 93943-5114. The favorable environmental factors involved in TC E-mail: [email protected] intensi®cation are relatively well established (Frank Unauthenticated | Downloaded 09/30/21 12:07 AM UTC OCTOBER 2000 TITLEY AND ELSBERRY 3557 1987; McBride 1995). More recent summaries are given ¯ux events were sometimes, but not always, correlated in the TC intensity change symposium, and the reader with future TC intensity changes. Some factors may be is referred to that preprint volume for details. In general the TC stage at the time of environmental forcing event; terms, higher sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are con- how long, and at what radius and over what depth, the sidered favorable because the energy source for the TC eddy momentum ¯ux occurs; and the intermediate storm is the ¯uxes of heat and moisture from the warm tropical structure that determines the inner-core response to a ocean [see keynote papers by Emanuel (1998) and Black remote (large radius) forcing event. Given these many and Shay (1998)]. factors by which environmental forcing may be involved Large environmental vertical wind shear is considered in TC intensi®cation, perhaps it is not surprising that unfavorable for intensi®cation, and is believed to be a diverse opinions exist as to the role of environmental major factor in the rapid decay of TCs. For example, forcing. values of vertical shear above certain threshold values A fourth factor in TC intensi®cation is the internal are believed to prevent TC intensi®cation beyond the dynamics of how the heat/moisture gained from the tropical storm (35±63 kt, 17±32 m s21) stage [see key- ocean, and transferred to the atmospheric boundary lay- note papers by DeMaria and Huber (1998) and Jones er, is released. Clearly, factors such as the radial dis- (1998)]. However, Molinari (1998) states that storms tribution of clouds with various depths are important. have intensi®ed despite high vertical shear during in- One fairly well accepted internal dynamic mechanism teractions with upper-tropospheric troughs. Elsberry and for TC intensity changes is the contracting eyewall cy- Jeffries (1996) caution that vertical shear estimates from cles of Willoughby et al. (1982). As the outer eyewall operational wind analyses in the Tropics may be faulty contracts inward, the maximum surface wind (intensity) because of data-sparsity problems over developing TCs, associated with the inner eyewall decreases. As the outer and Elsberry (1998) suggests these questionable vertical eyewall replaces the inner eyewall, the intensity again shear estimates may be a primary factor in poor TC increases (see Willoughby 1995 for examples and a intensity predictions with statistical equations. Less complete description). Although these contracting cy- agreement exists as to how the TC intensity is related cles seem to occur relatively frequently in TCs with an to vertical shears below the threshold value. Zehr (1998) intensity greater than 50 m s21, the mechanism(s) that takes the rather extreme position that vertical shear is triggers the cycles is not known. As Holland and Wang the only atmospheric environmental in¯uence that de- (1998) note, these internal dynamic processes have spe- termines the TC intensity! DeMaria and Huber (1998) ci®c timescales and life cycles, and these dictate to some propose that the physical processes involved in TC in- extent the adjustment of the TC to external forcing, and tensity may change with the magnitude of the environ- thus affect the rate of intensi®cation. mental vertical shear and the existing storm structure. In summary, four nonlinearly interactive processes A particularly complex and controversial topic is the (ocean thermal structure changes, atmospheric boundary in¯uence of adjacent midlatitude or tropical troughs in layer and convective transports, and external factors the upper troposphere on TC intensity changes. Studies such as upper-tropospheric static stability and eddy an- back to Pfeffer (1958) have suggested that a proper gular momentum transports) are involved in TC inten- juxtaposition with an adjacent trough will lead to an sity changes. Although many numerical simulations eddy angular momentum ¯ux convergence into the TC have been made to explore the sensitivity to these var- in the upper troposphere. Molinari (1998) considers this ious factors, relatively few observational studies of rap- TC±trough interaction to be an example of a ``good id intensity changes have been published. This is par- trough'' for TC intensi®cation. Molinari et al. (1995, ticularly true in the western North Paci®c region. 1998) propose superposition of a positive potential vor- The objective of this study is to describe the rapid ticity feature in the upper troposphere with a similar intensity changes during the life cycle of Supertyphoon horizontal scale as the TC potential vorticity may be an Flo (intensity . 130 kt, 65 m s21) that occurred during essential feature in some cases of rapid deepening. As the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-90) ®eld experi- Wu and Cheng (1998) demonstrate using a potential ment (Elsberry 1990; Elsberry et al. 1990). Although vorticity (PV) inversion technique, and as will be il- the purpose of this experiment was to collect a com- lustrated from the analyses below, evidence for a PV prehensive dataset to study western North Paci®c TC superposition is lacking in the case of Typhoon Flo. motion, the dataset will be used here to study TC in- Juxtaposition of the trough may also increase the ver- tensity changes.
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