The Extratropical Transitions of Hurricanes Felix and Iris in 1995

Abstract

The extratropical transitions of Hurricanes Felix and Iris in 1995 are examined and compared. Both systems affected northwest Europe but only Iris developed significantly as an extratropical system. In both cases the hurricane interacts with a preexisting extratropical system over the western Atlantic. The remnants of the exhurricanes can be identified and tracked across the Atlantic as separate low-level potential vorticity (PV) anomalies. The nature of the baroclinic wave involved in the extratropical transition is described from a PV perspective and shown to differ significantly between the two cases. The role of vertical shear in modifying the hurricane structure during the early phase of the transition is investigated. Iris moved into a region of strong shear. The high PV tower of Iris developed a marked downshear tilt. Felix moved into a vertically sheared environment also but the shear was weaker than for Iris and the PV tower of Felix did not tilt much. Iris maintained its warm-core structure as it tracked across relatively warm water. It moved into the center of a large-scale baroclinic cyclone. The superposition of the two systems gave rise to strong low-level winds. The resulting strong surface latent heat fluxes helped to keep the boundary layer equivalent potential temperature (?e) close to the saturated equivalent potential temperature of the underlying sea surface temperature. This high equivalent potential temperature air was redistributed in the vertical in association with deep convection, which helped maintain the warm core in a similar way to that in tropical cyclones. Felix did not maintain its warm-core structure as it tracked across the Atlantic. This has been shown to be linked to its more poleward track across colder water. It is argued that negative surface fluxes of latent and sensible heat decrease the boundary layer ?e, resulting in low-cloud formation and a decoupling of the cyclone boundary layer from the the deep troposphere. In order to forecast these events there is a need for skill in predicting both the nature of the large-scale baroclinic wave development and the structural evolution of the exhurricane remnants.