Why Did the Storm Ex-Gaston (2010) Fail to Redevelop During the PREDICT Experiment
Abstract
An analysis is presented of the failed redevelopment of ex-Gaston during the 2010 PREDICT field campaign based on the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) analyses. We analyze the dynamics and kinematics of ex-Gaston to investigate the role of dry, environmental air in the failed redevelopment. The flow topology defined by the calculation of particle trajectories shows that ex-Gastons pouch was vulnerable to dry, environmental air on all days of observations. As early as 12:00 UTC2 September 2010, a dry layer at and above 600h Pa results in a decrease in the vertical mass flux and vertical relative vorticity. These findings support the hypothesis that entrained, dry air near 600 h Pa thwarted convective up draughts and vertical mass flux, which in turn led to a reduction in vorticity and a compromised pouch at these middle levels. A compromised pouch allows further intrusion of dry air and quenching of subsequent convection, therefore hindering vorticity amplification through vortex tube stretching. This study supports recent work investigating the role of dry air in moist convection during tropical cyclogenesis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 13, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1016649
Entities
People
- Blake Rutherford
- Mark A . Boothe
- Michael T. Montgomery
- T. M. Freismuth
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School