Numerical Simulation of Typhoon Gladys (1994) and Its Interaction with Taiwan Terrain Using the GFDL Hurricane Model

Abstract

Abstract Numerical integrations using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) hurricane model were performed to study the evolution of Typhoon Gladys (1994) and its interaction with the Taiwan terrain. Consistent with most previous studies, the Taiwan topography results in the deceleration of Gladys’s translation speed and southward deviation as it approaches Taiwan. On the other hand, Gladys accelerates northwestward while passing Taiwan, which is likely to be related to the moist processes, and differs from the track pattern in the dry model of Lin et al. Although the GFDL hurricane model forecast underestimates Gladys’s intensity, the model can capture the evolution of Gladys’s intensity, especially its weakening during landfall, which is primarily due to the cutoff of the water vapor supply in the boundary layer as Gladys approached the Taiwan terrain. Other mesoscale phenomena, including the pattern of heavy precipitation and the formation of secondary lows, are well simulated by the model, ...