Spatially Inhomogeneous Trends of Tropical Cyclone Intensity over the Western North Pacific for 1977–2010

Abstract

Abstract The spatial distribution of trends in tropical cyclone (TC) intensity over the western North Pacific Ocean (WNP) during the period 1977–2010 was examined using five TC datasets. The spatial distribution of the TC intensity was expressed by seasonally averaged maximum wind speeds in 5° × 5° horizontal grids. The trends showed a spatial inhomogeneity, with a weakening in the tropical Philippine Sea (TP) and a strengthening in southern Japan and its southeastern ocean (SJ). This distribution could be described by TC intensification rate and genesis frequency, with the aid of the climatological direction of TC movement. The increasing intensification rate around the center of the WNP could mostly account for the increasing intensity over the SJ region, while the influence of both intensification rate and local genesis frequency mattered in the TP region because of the effect of the newly generated and less-developed weak TCs on the TC intensity. Thermodynamic variables (e.g., sea surface temperature, potential intensity, and 26°C isotherm depth) showed almost homogeneous changes in space, possibly favoring intensification rate and genesis frequency over the entire WNP. However, the decreasing intensification rate and genesis frequency in some tropical regions conflicted with the impact of thermodynamic variables; rather, they were in accord with the impact of dynamic variables (i.e., vorticity and wind shear). In conclusion, the spatially inhomogeneous trends in TC intensity could be explained by considering the thermodynamic and dynamic aspects in combination through intensification rate and genesis frequency.