A Modeling Study of Hurricane Landfall in a Dry Environment

The effects of dry air intrusion on landfalling hurricanes are investigated using eight numerical simulations. The simulations differ in the initial amount of moisture in the storm core and its horizontal extent from the storm center. The storms evolve very differently during the 36-h simulation. Storms with a small radial extent of moisture develop minimal rainbands, intensify rapidly in the first 3 h, and weaken as dry air from the 800–850-hPa layer wraps cyclonically and inward around the storm core. As the air approaches the core, it sinks (possibly by eyewall downdrafts or as a result of evaporative cooling), reaches the storm’s inflow layer, and entrains into the eyewall updrafts. Storms with large radial extent of moisture develop into larger storms with large rainbands, having smaller intensification rates initially, but continue to intensify for a longer period of time. Rainband downdrafts release low equivalent potential temperature air into the moat region. Low-level convergence into the rainbands reduces the magnitude of eyewall inflow. Both factors reduce storm intensification initially. Simultaneously, the rainbands act as a barrier between the moist core and the dry environment, preventing dry air from penetrating the storm core. As land is approached, inflowing air is no longer replenished with heat and moisture. Eventually, rainband convection erodes and dry air approaches the storm core from the landward side causing the storms to weaken. Without the presence of land, a hurricane can sustain itself in a dry environment, provided its moist envelope is large enough.