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An analysis of tropical cyclones impacting the Southeast United States from a regional reanalysis

Regional Environmental Change volume 13, pages 35–43 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Extreme events (low probability–high impact events) such as tropical cyclones can result in loss of life, substantial socio-economic impacts and disrupt the natural environment. Atmospheric reanalysis products provide a means for understanding these events and their impacts. This paper examines the near-surface winds and precipitation from 42 observed land-falling tropical cyclones between 1979 and 2000 in a new high-resolution (10 km) reanalysis for the Southeast United States. It is shown that the near-surface wind speeds in the tropical cyclones are underestimated by almost half compared to the observed best-track data. The regional reanalysis resolves the pattern of coastal precipitation associated with the tropical cyclones; however, the average storm maximum precipitation is too high resulting in large storm-related precipitation farther inland than observed. Possible reasons for the deficiencies are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the Office of Science (BER), U.S. Department of Energy and from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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  1. Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    Timothy LaRow

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  1. Timothy LaRow
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Correspondence to Timothy LaRow.

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LaRow, T. An analysis of tropical cyclones impacting the Southeast United States from a regional reanalysis. Reg Environ Change 13 (Suppl 1), 35–43 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-012-0374-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-012-0374-6

Keywords

  • Dynamical downscaling
  • Tropical cyclones
  • Regional reanalysis