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Meso- and Miso-scale structures in the eye and eyewall of major hurricanes

Principal Investigator:

Project Members:

Collaborating Scientists:

Objectives:

Understand and describe small-scale features in tropical cyclone eyewalls and their impact on intensity. 

Methods:

This will be accomplished by:

  • analyzing dropwindsonde, flight-level, airborne Doppler radar, and other data within hurricane eyewalls

Accomplishments:
  • Samples of dropwindsondes with extreme horizontal and vertical motions have been collected.
  • High-resolution HEDAS analyses of Hurricane Fabian during the time of its polygonal eyewall structure (03 September 2003) have been completed.

Future Goals:
  • Complete study of extreme horizontal motions in eyewalls.
  • Begin analysis of extreme vertical motions in eyewalls.
  • Synthesize data during Fabian flight 02 September.
  • Synthesize data during Felix flight 02 September.
  • Analyze convective motions in the eye of Hurricane Emily (2005).
  • Cluster analyses of all eyewall dropwindsonde data.

Project Links: References:
  • Aberson, S. D., and J. B. Halverson, 2006: Kelvin-Helmholtz waves in the eyewall of Hurricane Erin. Mon. Wea. Rev.134, 1036-1038. 
  • Aberson, S. D., J. Dunion, and F. D. Marks, Jr., 2006: Photograph of a wavenumber two asymmetry in the eye of Hurricane Erin. J. Atmos. Sci.,63, 387-391. 
  • Montgomery, M. T., M. Bell, S. D. Aberson, and M. L. Black, 2006: Aberson, S. D., J. Dunion, and F. D. Marks, Jr., 2004: Photograph of a Superintense winds in Hurricane Isabel Part I : Mean vortex structure. Bull. Amer. Met. Soc.87, 1335-1347. 
  • Aberson, S. D., M. Bell, and M. L. Black, M. T. Montgomery, 2006: Superintense winds in Hurricane Isabel Part II : Extreme wind speeds. Bull. Amer. Met. Soc.87, 1349-1354.


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