Relation between Tropical Easterly Waves, Convection, and Tropical Cyclogenesis: A Lagrangian Perspective

Abstract

n this study, a wave-following Lagrangian framework was used to examine the evolution of tropical easterly wave structure, circulation, and convection in the days leading up to and including tropical cyclogenesis in the Atlantic and east Pacific basins. After easterly waves were separated into northerly, southerly, trough, and ridge phases using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction?National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis 700-hPa meridional wind, waves that developed a tropical cyclone [developing waves (DWs)] and waves that never developed a cyclone [nondeveloping waves (NDWs)] were identified. Day zero (D0) was defined as the day on which a tropical depression was identified for DWs or the day the waves achieved maximum 850-hPa vorticity for NDWs. Both waves types were then traced from five days prior to D0 (D ? 5) through one day after D0. Results suggest that as genesis is approached for DWs, the coverage by convection and cold cloudiness (e.g., fractional coverage by infrared brightness temperatures ≤240 K) increases, while convective intensity (e.g., lightning flash rate) decreases. Therefore, the coverage by convection appears to be more important than the intensity of convection for tropical cyclogenesis. In contrast, convective coverage and intensity both increase from D ? 5 to D0 for NDWs. Compared to NDWs, DWs are associated with significantly greater coverage by cold cloudiness, large-scale moisture throughout a deep layer, and large-scale, upper-level (~200 hPa) divergence, especially within the trough and southerly phases, suggesting that these parameters are most important for cyclogenesis and for distinguishing DWs from NDWs.