The role of baroclinic waves in the initiation of tropical cyclones across the southern Indian Ocean

Payne, B. and Methven, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7636-6872 (2012) The role of baroclinic waves in the initiation of tropical cyclones across the southern Indian Ocean. Atmospheric Science Letters, 13 (2). pp. 88-94. ISSN 1530-261X doi: 10.1002/asl.369

Abstract/Summary

Cases where tropical storms are initiated simultaneously along one latitude are investigated. It is argued that such structure arises as part of a baroclinic wave. A case from February 2008 is examined using European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts (ECMWF) analyses; the birth of three tropical cyclones in the low-level cyclonic regions to the east of upper-level troughs suggests that the wave was instrumental for initiation. Archived satellite imagery and storm warnings reveal that baroclinic waves over the southern Indian Ocean accompany tropical cyclogenesis twice a season on average, mainly in late summer, when breaking Rossby waves on the subtropical westerly jet are closest to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/32705
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Uncontrolled Keywords	tropical storm, Rossby wave, cyclogenesis
Publisher	Wiley for Royal Meteorological Society
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