Sudden Track Changes of Tropical Cyclones in Monsoon Gyres: Full-Physics, Idealized Numerical Experiments*

Abstract

Abstract Tropical cyclones (TCs) in the eastern semicircle of large-scale monsoon gyres (MGs) were observed to take either a northward (sudden northward and northward without a sharp turn) or a westward TC turn, but only the northward turn was previously simulated in a barotropic model. To understand what controls TC track types in MGs, idealized numerical experiments are performed using the full-physics Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. These experiments indicate that TCs initially located in the eastern semicircle of MGs can generally take three types of tracks: a sudden northward track, a westward track, and a northward track without a sharp turn. The track types depend upon the TC movement relative to the MG center. In agreement with barotropic simulations, the WRF simulation confirms that approaching and being collocated with the MG center is crucial to the occurrence of sudden northward TC track changes and that sudden northward track changes can be generally accounted for by changes in the steering flow. TCs that take westward tracks and northward tracks without a sharp turn do not experience such a coalescence process. Westward TCs move faster than MGs and are then located to the west of the MG center, while TCs move more slowly than MGs and then take a northward track without a sharp turn. This study reveals that the specific TC track in the eastern semicircle of an MG is sensitive to the initial wind profiles of both MGs and TCs, suggesting that improvement in the observation of TC and MG structures is very important for predicting TC track types in MGs.