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- Letter
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Birth of a cold core in tropical cyclones past landfall
Phys. Rev. Fluids 6, L051801 – Published 26 May, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.6.L051801
Abstract
A tropical cyclone (TC) over ocean functions as a heat engine fueled by ocean moisture. By contrast, its decay past landfall is thought to be akin to a dry vortex spinning-down due to friction with the land, an intrinsically nonthermodynamic process. We study the evolution of TCs past landfall using computational simulations where we explicitly account for thermodynamics. Doing so allows us to uncover that past landfall the TC's dynamical heart—the warm core—does not simply wither away. Instead, thermodynamic processes modulated by the moisture stored in the TC invariably engender a cold core that grows underneath and at the expense of the warm core. Our findings underscore the key role of moist thermodynamics in the postlandfall evolution of TCs. Additionally, they have direct implications on the prevailing weather forecasting methods which invoke the birth of a cold core as a telltale signature of an extratropical transition.
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