A Review of Hurricane and Tropical Meteorology

Abstract

Progress in hurricane and tropical meteorology is reviewed over the period 1960?1971. The recognition of the role of scale-interaction; the necessity to include energy sources and sinks in the general circulation models; the complexity of the problem of subgrid scale processes; the growth of a quantiative observational base in the tropics, the advent of the meteorological satellite; and the power of the computer have collectively led to great effort and considerable progress in the realm of tropical meteorology during this period. This progress and the areas of weakness are presented within a framework of spatial and temporal sales ranging from the planetary to the turbulent. Without minimizing the difficulties that lie ahead there is reason for a degree of optimisim. A coherent picture of the tropical atmosphere is emerging. Theory and observations are finding common ground. Critical tests of both lie ahead in the first major experiment of the Global Atmospheric Research Program: the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment.