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Citation:
Slocum, C. J., R. K. Taft, J. P. Kossin, and W. H. Schubert, 2023: Barotropic Instability during Eyewall Replacement, Meteor., 2, 191–221. https://doi.org/10.3390/meteorology2020013.
Summary:
Hurricane Maria’s (2017) devastated the island of Puerto Rico. While the geostationary satellite observations miss key aspects of the vortex evolution, the San Juan Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) captures an important feature about the eyewall replacement process. This work uses the non-divergent barotropic model to understand the linear and non-linear evolution of Maria-like vortices. From the analysis provided by both approaches, the simple dynamics highlight one possible pathway to Hurricane Maria’s eyewall replacement process and insight into how this evolution may have resulted in the destruction of the San Juan NEXRAD. With increasing synthetic aperture radar tropical cyclone overpasses, a broader understanding of eyewall structure and evolution might be possible using these simple arguments.
(POC: Chris Slocum, STAR, Christopher.Slocum@noaa.gov; Funding: PDRA)
Caption: GOES-16 (left) and San Juan NEXRAD (center) prior to the landfall of Hurricane Maria (2017) on Puerto Rico. Radar shows an elliptical inner eye that can be explained through barotropic instability as simulated (right).