On the size distribution of Atlantic tropical cyclones
Author(s)
Emanuel, Kerry Andrew; Chavas, Daniel Robert; Dean, L.
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The size of a tropical cyclone is known to vary considerably across storms, though little is understood about the environmental and internal factors that modulate it. Making use of newly available extended tropical cyclone records that include information about storm structure, we examine the size distribution of Atlantic tropical cyclones, using as a metric the radius of vanishing storm winds normalized by the theoretical upper bound given by the ratio of the potential intensity to the Coriolis parameter. We find that the distribution of this normalized outer radius is closely log-normal.
Date issued
2009-07Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary SciencesJournal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Dean, L., K. A. Emanuel, and D. R. Chavas. “On the size distribution of Atlantic tropical cyclones.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 36.14 (2009): L14803. ©2009 American Geophysical Union.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0094–8276