Open AccessPatterns in 500 hPa geopotential height associated with temporal clusters of tropical cyclone tornadoes
Author(s) -
Moore Todd W.,
Dixon Richard W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
meteorological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1469-8080
pISSN - 1350-4827
DOI - 10.1002/met.1456
Subject(s) - tornado , westerlies , climatology , tropical cyclone , geopotential height , tropical cyclone rainfall forecasting , cyclone (programming language) , latitude , meteorology , geopotential , extratropical cyclone , tropical cyclogenesis , middle latitudes , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , geology , geography , precipitation , geodesy , field programmable gate array , computer science , computer hardware
Tropical cyclones are known to produce tornadoes, but the total number of tornadoes a tropical cyclone will produce, or the rate at which it will produce tornadoes throughout its lifespan, is not well understood. To understand better the link between the large‐scale environment in which a tropical cyclone is located and tornado production, this study analyses and classifies 500 hPa geopotential height plots that correspond to temporal clusters of tornadoes. The primary 500 hPa patterns identified in this study represent various stages of interaction with the mid‐latitude westerlies that a tropical cyclone may experience as it tracks from the tropics and subtropics to the mid‐latitudes. Statistical analysis of the number of tornadoes per cluster suggests that tropical cyclones produce more tornadoes when they begin to interact with, or become embedded within, the mid‐latitude westerlies.