Re: Why do troughs overpower hurricanes?
Posted by
JAC on 9/18/2010, 9:10 pm
One thing about on the Schematic of the Hurricane Structure they didn't really emphasize is the strong downdraft present in the eyewall due to high rain rate.
The downdraft actually impedes the low-level inflow of high theta-e air.
This is one of the main reasons that modulates the intensity of a TC and theoretically limits it to a max of Cat 5.
When inflow and outlfow is very strong (Cat 4 or 5 intensity), the two processes are not uniformily distributed angularly around the core.
Rather, they start to segment into cells or pockets.
One area has a large inflow and an area next to it a large downdraft.
As the downdraft hits the water, it moves away from the core in a suface jet.
This is much like a rear flank downdraft in a supercell.
Because there is a very big difference in temperature in the inflow jet and rear-flank downdraft jet a new small vortex is formed along the boundary between the two jets.
It a hurricane the vortex is called mesovorticies.
In a supercell it is called a tornado.
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