2021/04/09 by Muhammad Naufal Razin, Michael M. Bell · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research #Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing #Coastal and Marine Dynamics #Eye #Rainband #Climatology #Geology #Tropical cyclone #Outflow #Storm #Dropsonde #Precipitation #Inflow #Meteorology #Atmospheric sciences #Environmental science #Oceanography #Physics
paper · doi:10.1175/mwr-d-20-0181.1
openalex publication_date 2021/04/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Abstract Hurricane Ophelia (2005) underwent an unconventional eyewall replacement cycle (ERC) as it was a Category 1 storm located over cold sea surface temperatures near 23°C. The ERC was analyzed using airborne radar, flight-level, and dropsonde data collected during the Hurricane Rainband and Intensity Change Experiment (RAINEX) intensive observation period on 11 September 2005. Results showed that the spin-up of the secondary tangential wind maximum during the ERC can be attributed to the efficient convergence of absolute angular momentum by the mid-level inflow of Ophelia’s dominantly stratiform rainbands. This secondary tangential wind maximum strongly contributed to the azimuthal mean tangential wind field, which is conducive for increased low-level supergradient winds and corresponding outflow. The low-level supergradient forcing enhanced convergence to form a secondary eyewall. Ophelia provides a unique example of an ERC occurring in a weaker storm with predominantly stratiform rainbands, suggesting an important role of stratiform precipitation processes in the development of secondary eyewalls.