Initiation of a mesoscale convective complex over the Ethiopian Highlands preceding the genesis of Hurricane Alberto (2000)

Abstract

A tropical disturbance, which would later become Hurricane Alberto (2000), was traced back in time as a mesoscale convective complex (MCC) to the Ethiopian Highlands (EH), where the MCC first developed. Meteosat‐7 imagery indicates that the MCC develops during the late afternoon and evening of 28 July 2000, and that a mesovortex (MV) was evident on the morning of 29 July 2000. A preliminary mesoscale model simulation features the development of two areas of maximum relative vorticity in the middle troposphere, with the maturation of one of the vorticity maxima into a significant MV. The higher‐level vorticity center of the simulated MV tracks westward and is nearly collocated with the vortex signature in satellite imagery, while the lower‐level center remains near the lee side of the EH. The vortex signature in satellite imagery was traceable to the cyclogenesis stage over the eastern Atlantic Ocean.