Tropical Cyclone Forecasters Reference Guide
Chapter 2. TROPICAL CLIMATOLOGY
Contributors of Chapter 2: J.-H. Chu, NRL, R. A. Jeffries, LT, USN/NLMOC, R. J. Miller, WSFO, Spokane, WA., C. R. Sampson, NRL
Initially published as NOARL Technical Note 236, April 1992; Revision date: June 1995; HTML conversion date: 22 January 1998
Abstract
Knowledge of weather and climate plays an important role in almost all kinds of military operations in the tropics. The Tropical Cyclone Forecasters Reference Guide is designed primarily as a ready reference for weather forecasters who provide tropical meteorology support to staff commanders. This chapter provides a brief review of tropical climatology and synoptic models including wave disturbances, vortices and tropical cyclones. References of this chapter include Sadler (1967a,b), Palmen and Newton (1969), Ramage (1971), Newell et al. (1972, 1974), Nieuwolt (1977), Riehl (1979), Krishnamurti (1979), Jeffries et al. (1992), Peixoto and Oort (1992), Hastenrath (1994), Ding (1994). Background information of this chapter can be found in NACEDTRA (1974), Gill (1982), and NIC (1994).
***** The end of Abstract *****
CHAPTER 2 CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
SECTION 1. GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE TROPICS
- 1.1 The Earth's Heat-energy Balance
- 1.2 Pacific Ocean Surface Streamline Pattern
- 1.2.1 February
- 1.2.2 May
- 1.2.3 August
- 1.2.4 November
- 1.3 Indian Ocean Surface Streamline Pattern
- 1.3.1 January
- 1.3.2 April
- 1.3.3 July
- 1.3.4 October
- 1.4 Atlantic Ocean Surface Streamline Pattern
- 1.4.1 January
- 1.4.2 July
- 1.5 Upper Tropospheric Streamline Pattern
- 1.5.1 January
- 1.5.2 July
- 1.6 Vertical Motion Fields
- 1.7 Mean Tropospheric Zonal Winds
- 1.7.1 December - February
- 1.7.2 March - May
- 1.7.3 June - August
- 1.7.4 September - November
- 1.8 Meridional and Vertical Mass Flux
- 1.9 Horizontal Temperature and Pressure Gradients
- 1.10 Specific Humidity Distribution
- 1.11 Radiative Heating Rates
- 1.12 Mean Cloudiness
- 1.13 Local Effects on the Observed Large-scale Circulations
- 1.13.1 Distribution of Land and Water
- 1.13.2 Sea-Surface Temperature
- 1.13.3 Southern Oscillation Index
- 1.13.4 The El Nino phenomena
- 1.13.5 El Nino and Southern Oscillation
- 1.13.6 Cumulus Convection
- 1.14 Lateral Interaction with Mid-latitude Flow
- 1.14.1 Monsoon
- 1.14.2 Monsoon Indices
- 1.14.3 Indian-Asian Southwest Summer Monsoon
- 1.14.4 Southeast Asian Winter Monsoon
- 1.14.5 Northwest Australian Summer Monsoon
- 1.14.6 African Monsoon
- 1.15 Some Physical Interactions Between Troposphere and Stratosphere
- 1.15.1 Yanai-Maruyama Wave
- 1.15.2 Kelvin Wave
- 1.15.3 Ouasi-biennial Oscillation
- 1.15.4 Annual Oscillation
- 1.15.5 Semiannual Oscillation
SECTION 2. TROPOSPHERIC WAVE DISTURBANCES AND SYNOPTIC MODELS
- 2.1 Waves
- 2.2 Lower Tropospheric Cyclonic Vortices
- 2.3 Low Tropospheric Anticyclonic Vortices
- 2.4 Middle Tropospheric Cyclonic Vortices
- 2.4.1 Subtropical Cyclones
- 2.4.2 Arabian Sea Cyclones
- 2.5 Upper Tropospheric Cyclonic Vortices
- 2.6 Upper-Tropospheric Anticyclonic Vortices
- 2.7 Linear Disturbances
-
- SECTION 3. TROPICAL CYCLONES
- 3.1 Classifications of Tropical Cyclones
- 3.2 Tropical Cyclone Formation Requirements
- 3.3 Global Distributions of Tropical Cyclones
- APPENDIX: List of Figures
- REFERENCES
-
-
- ***** The end of CONTENTS *****
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- The support of the sponsor, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, is greatly appreciated. Thanks are also extended to Mr. R. Gilmore at the Science Applications International Corp. for drafting figures, to Ms. J. May at NRL for the literature search, and to Mr. T. Ninpetcharat at Thailand Weather Department for editorial suggestions.
***** The end of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS *****
Main
Chapter 2
