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Dissipative heating and hurricane intensity

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Summary

Dissipative heating has not been accounted for in either numerical simulations of hurricanes or in theories for the maximum intensity of hurricanes. We argue that the bulk of dissipative heating occurs in the atmospheric boundary layer near the radius of maximum winds and, using both theory and numerical simulation, show that dissipative heating increases maximum wind speeds in tropical cyclones by about 20%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 02139, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

    M. Bister & K. A. Emanuel

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  1. M. Bister
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  2. K. A. Emanuel
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Bister, M., Emanuel, K.A. Dissipative heating and hurricane intensity. Meteorl. Atmos. Phys. 65, 233–240 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01030791

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01030791

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