Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

The Sensitivity of Idealized Hurricane Structure and Development to the Distribution of Vertical Levels in MM5

Sytske K. Kimball Department of Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama

Search for other papers by Sytske K. Kimball in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
F. Carroll Dougherty Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama

Search for other papers by F. Carroll Dougherty in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
01 Jul 2006
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR3171.1
Page(s):
1987–2008
Restricted access

Abstract

In the course of studying the development of hurricanes using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5), a relationship between storm intensity and the distribution of vertical levels became apparent, even when the same total number of sigma levels was used. A specific case of an idealized hurricane, on an f plane, in a quiescent environment, with constant and uniform SST of 28°C, was used to study the sensitivity of hurricane structure and evolution to the distribution of sigma levels. The distribution of vertical levels in the inflow, outflow, and middle layers of the atmosphere clearly affects the intensity, size, and structure of the storms, causing certain physical processes to be under- or overresolved. A well-resolved outflow layer is found to be necessary for proper storm intensification, while a well-resolved inflow layer does not necessarily correspond to an intense storm. In fact, when a well-resolved inflow layer is coupled with a poorly resolved outflow layer, a particularly weak storm evolves. When too few levels are assigned to the upper layer, the storm’s outflow is restricted, causing the eyewall column to become statically stable until surface fluxes can replenish low-level equivalent potential temperature content. Convection in the eyewall and compensating subsidence in the eye occur at a moderate rate and weak storms evolve. However, too few levels in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) can cause a storm to overintensify because of overestimated surface fluxes. When such a PBL is coupled with a poorly resolved outflow, the excessive surface fluxes can compensate for the stifled secondary circulation. Hence, this storm may develop to an expected intensity, but for the wrong reasons. Better guidelines for vertical-level distribution in numerical models, perhaps developed from observations of real-case hurricanes, are required.

Corresponding author address: Sytske Kimball, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, LSCB 136, Mobile, AL 36688. Email: skimball@usouthal.edu

Abstract

In the course of studying the development of hurricanes using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5), a relationship between storm intensity and the distribution of vertical levels became apparent, even when the same total number of sigma levels was used. A specific case of an idealized hurricane, on an f plane, in a quiescent environment, with constant and uniform SST of 28°C, was used to study the sensitivity of hurricane structure and evolution to the distribution of sigma levels. The distribution of vertical levels in the inflow, outflow, and middle layers of the atmosphere clearly affects the intensity, size, and structure of the storms, causing certain physical processes to be under- or overresolved. A well-resolved outflow layer is found to be necessary for proper storm intensification, while a well-resolved inflow layer does not necessarily correspond to an intense storm. In fact, when a well-resolved inflow layer is coupled with a poorly resolved outflow layer, a particularly weak storm evolves. When too few levels are assigned to the upper layer, the storm’s outflow is restricted, causing the eyewall column to become statically stable until surface fluxes can replenish low-level equivalent potential temperature content. Convection in the eyewall and compensating subsidence in the eye occur at a moderate rate and weak storms evolve. However, too few levels in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) can cause a storm to overintensify because of overestimated surface fluxes. When such a PBL is coupled with a poorly resolved outflow, the excessive surface fluxes can compensate for the stifled secondary circulation. Hence, this storm may develop to an expected intensity, but for the wrong reasons. Better guidelines for vertical-level distribution in numerical models, perhaps developed from observations of real-case hurricanes, are required.

Corresponding author address: Sytske Kimball, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of South Alabama, LSCB 136, Mobile, AL 36688. Email: skimball@usouthal.edu

Save
Cover Monthly Weather Review
Monthly Weather Review

  • Anthes, R. A., 1972: Development of asymmetries in a three-dimensional numerical model of the tropical cyclone. Mon. Wea. Rev., 100 , 461–476.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Betts, A. K., and M. J. Miller, 1993: The Betts–Miller scheme. The Representation of Cumulus Convection in Numerical Models, Meteor. Monogr., No. 46, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 107–121.

  • Black, R. A., and J. Hallett, 1986: Observations of the distribution of ice in hurricanes. J. Atmos. Sci., 43 , 802–822.

  • Blackadar, A. K., 1979: High-resolution models of the planetary boundary layer. Advances in Environmental Science and Engineering, J. Pfafflin and E. Ziegler, Eds., Vol. 1, No. 1, Gordon and Breach, 50–85.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Braun, S. A., and R. A. Houze, 1994: The transition zone and secondary maximum of radar reflectivity behind a midlatitude squall line: Results retrieved from Doppler radar data. J. Atmos. Sci., 51 , 2733–2755.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Braun, S. A., and W. K. Tao, 2000: Sensitivity of high-resolution simulations of Hurricane Bob (1991) to planetary boundary layer parameterizations. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128 , 3941–3961.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Colle, B. A., 2003: Numerical simulations of the extratropical transition of Floyd (1999): Structural evolution and responsible mechanisms for the heavy rainfall over the northeast United States. Mon. Wea. Rev., 131 , 2905–2926.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Danielsen, E. F., 1993: In situ evidence of rapid, vertical, irreversible transport of lower tropospheric air into the lower tropical stratosphere by convective cloud turrets and by large-scale upwelling of tropical cyclones. J. Geophys. Res., 98 , 8665–8681.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • DeMaria, M., and J. Kaplan, 1994: Sea surface temperature and the maximum intensity of Atlantic tropical cyclones. J. Climate, 7 , 1324–1334.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Emanuel, K. A., 1988: The maximum intensity of hurricanes. J. Atmos. Sci., 45 , 1143–1155.

  • Fovell, R. G., and Y. Ogura, 1989: Effect of vertical wind shear on numerically simulated multicell storm structure. J. Atmos. Sci., 46 , 3144–3176.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grell, G. A., J. Dudhia, and D. R. Stauffer, 1994: A description of the fifth generation Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5). NCAR Tech. Note NCAR/TN-398 + STR, 138 pp.

  • Heymsfield, G. M., J. B. Halverson, J. Simpson, L. Tian, and T. P. Bui, 2001: ER-2 Doppler radar investigations of the eyewall of Hurricane Bonnie during the Convection and Moisture Experiment-3. J. Appl. Meteor., 40 , 1310–1330.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Holland, G. J., 1997: The maximum potential intensity of tropical cyclones. J. Atmos. Sci., 54 , 2519–2541.

  • Houze Jr., R. A., F. D. Marks Jr., and R. A. Black, 1992: Dual-aircraft investigation of the inner core of Hurricane Norbert. Part II: Mesocale distribution of ice particles. J. Atmos. Sci., 49 , 943–962.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kimball, S. K., and J. L. Evans, 2002: Idealized numerical modeling of hurricane–trough interaction. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130 , 2210–2227.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kimball, S. K., and M. S. Mulekar, 2004: A 15-year climatology of North Atlantic tropical cyclones. Part I: Size parameters. J. Climate, 17 , 3554–3574.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lane, D. E., R. C. J. Somerville, and S. F. Iacobellis, 2000: Sensitivity of cloud and radiation parameterizations to changes in vertical resolution. J. Climate, 13 , 915–922.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lindzen, R. S., and M. Fox-Rabinovitz, 1989: Constant vertical and horizontal resolution. Mon. Wea. Rev., 117 , 2575–2583.

  • Liu, Y., D-L. Zhang, and M. K. Yau, 1997: A multiscale numerical study of Hurricane Andrew (1992). Part I: Explicit simulation and validation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 125 , 3073–3093.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Liu, Y., D-L. Zhang, and M. K. Yau, 1999: A multiscale numerical study of Hurricane Andrew (1992). Part II: Kinematics and inner-core structures. Mon. Wea. Rev., 127 , 2597–2616.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lord, S. J., H. E. Willoughby, and J. M. Piotrowicz, 1984: Role of parameterized ice-phase microphysics in an axisymmetric, non-hydrostatic tropical cyclone model. J. Atmos. Sci., 41 , 2836–2848.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Malkus, J. S., and H. Riehl, 1960: On the dynamics and energy transformations in steady-state hurricanes. Tellus, 12 , 1–20.

  • McFarquhar, G. M., and R. A. Black, 2004: Observations of particle size and phase in tropical cyclones: Implications for mesoscale modeling of microphysical processes. J. Atmos. Sci., 61 , 422–439.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McFarquhar, G. M., H. Zhang, G. Heymsfield, J. Dudhia, J. B. Halverson, R. E. Hood, and F. Marks, 2004: A modeling and observational study of the impacts of microphysical processes on the evolution of Hurricane Erin 2001. Preprints, 26th Conf. on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Miami, FL, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 520–521.

  • Merrill, R. T., 1988: Environmental influences on hurricane intensity. Part I: Outflow layer eddy-angular momentum fluxes. J. Atmos. Sci., 45 , 1678–1687.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Montgomery, M. T., and R. J. Kallenbach, 1997: A theory for vortex Rossby-waves and its application to spiral bands and intensity changes in hurricanes. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 123 , 435–465.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Mulekar, M. S., and S. K. Kimball, 2004: The statistics of hurricanes. STATS, Mag. Students Stat., 39 , 3–9.

  • Pope, V. D., J. A. Pamment, D. R. Jackson, and A. Slingo, 2001: The representation of water vapor and its dependence on vertical resolution in the Hadley Centre climate model. J. Climate, 14 , 3065–3085.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Powell, M. D., 1990: Boundary layer structure and dynamics in outer hurricane rainbands. Part II: Downdraft modification and mixed layer recovery. Mon. Wea. Rev., 118 , 918–938.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Pu, Z-X., and S. A. Braun, 2001: Evaluation of bogus vortex techniques with four-dimensional variational data assimilation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129 , 2023–2039.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Reisner, J., R. T. Bruintjes, and R. J. Rasmussen, 1993: Preliminary comparison between MM5 NCAR/Penn State model generated icing forecasts and observations. Preprints, Fifth Int. Conf. on Aviation Weather Systems, Vienna, VA, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 65–69.

  • Reisner, J., R. J. Rasmussen, and R. T. Bruintjes, 1998: Explicit forecasting of supercooled liquid water in winter storms using the MM5 mesoscale model. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 124B , 1071–1107.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Riehl, H., 1954: Tropical Meteorology. McGraw-Hill, 392 pp.

  • Rogers, R., M. Black, S. Chen, and R. Black, 2004: Evaluating the microphysical parameterization schemes for use in hurricane environments. Preprints, 26th Conf. on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Miami, FL, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 518–519.

  • Rosenthal, S. L., 1971: The response of a tropical cyclone model to variations in boundary layer parameters, initial conditions, lateral boundary conditions, and domain size. Mon. Wea. Rev., 99 , 767–777.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Steranka, J., E. B. Rodgers, and R. C. Gentry, 1986: The relationship between satellite measured convective bursts and tropical cyclone intensification. Mon. Wea. Rev., 114 , 1539–1546.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Willoughby, H. E., 1995: Mature structure and evolution. Global Perspectives on Tropical Cyclones, R. L. Elsberry, Ed., WMO, 43–44.

  • Willoughby, H. E., 1998: Tropical cyclone eye thermodynamics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126 , 3053–3067.

  • Xiao, Q., X. Zou, and B. Wang, 2000: Initialization and simulation of a landfalling hurricane using a variational bogus data assimilation scheme. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128 , 2252–2269.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhang, D-L., and R. A. Anthes, 1982: A high-resolution model of the planetary boundary layer—Sensitivity tests and comparisons with SESAME-79 data. J. Appl. Meteor., 21 , 1594–1609.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhang, D-L., and J. M. Fritsch, 1988: Numerical sensitivity experiments of varying model physics on the structure, evolution and dynamics of two mesoscale convective systems. J. Atmos. Sci., 45 , 261–293.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhang, D-L., and X. Wang, 2003: Dependence of hurricane intensity and structures on vertical resolution and time-step size. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 20 , 711–725.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhang, D-L., Y. Liu, and M. K. Yau, 2000: A multiscale numerical study of Hurricane Andrew (1992). Part III: Dynamically induced vertical motion. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128 , 3772–3778.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhang, D-L., Y. Liu, and M. K. Yau, 2002: A multiscale numerical study of Hurricane Andrew (1992). Part V: Inner-core thermodynamics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130 , 2745–2763.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhu, T., D-L. Zhang, and F. Weng, 2002: Impact of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit measurements on hurricane prediction. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130 , 2416–2432.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zou, X., Q. Xiao, A. E. Lipton, and G. D. Modica, 2001: A numerical study of the effect of GOES sounder cloud-cleared brightness temperature on the prediction of Hurricane Felix. J. Appl. Meteor., 40 , 34–55.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 1280 673 56
PDF Downloads 186 57 3