Predictability Associated with the Downstream Impacts of the Extratropical Transition of Tropical Cyclones: Case Studies

Abstract

The extratropical transition (ET) of tropical cyclones often has a negative impact on the predictability of the atmospheric situation both around the ET event and farther downstream. The predictability of five ET cases of different intensities in the North Atlantic and the western North Pacific is investigated using the ECMWF ensemble prediction system. The variability in the ensemble members is regarded as a measure of the predictability. Plumes of forecast uncertainty spread downstream of each ET event. Initialization times closer to the ET events yield higher predictability of the downstream flow independent of forecast lead time. Principal component analysis and fuzzy clustering is used to assess the variability in the ensemble members and to identify groupings of the members that contribute in a similar way to the variability patterns. Applying the method to the potential temperature on the dynamic tropopause reveals a characteristic variability pattern in all five cases that is closely related to the synoptic patterns of the ET events. Clusters that contribute in a similar manner to the variability patterns exhibit similar ET developments in the different cases. A probability can be assigned to a given group based on the number of members in the group. The number of clusters decreases with shorter forecast intervals and the difference between the clusters becomes less marked. This indicates an increase of predictability. The usefulness of ensemble prediction is highlighted in the weak ET cases in that a low probability is assigned to the erroneous deterministic forecasts.