External influences on hurricane intensity. Part II: vertical structure and response of the hurricane vortex

Abstract

The vertical structure of the interaction of Hurricane Elena (1985) with a baroclinic wave was evaluated using analyses from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting. During the period of interaction, azimuthal eddies produced a localized flux convergence of cyclonic angular momentum in the upper troposphere which shifted to progressively smaller radii prior to major secondary deepening of the storm. These momentum fluxes decayed above and below the outflow layer. Eddy heat fluxes showed maximum cooling in the middle and upper troposphere and warming in the lower stratosphere, reflecting the temperature structure of the baroclinic wave as it moved into the hurricane volume. -from Authors