Moisture sources for precipitation associated with major hurricanes during 2017 in the North Atlantic Basin
The 2017 North Atlantic tropical cyclone season was among the most active in the last two decades, with 17 named storms, of which six reached the major hurricane (MH) intensity: Harvey, Irma, Jose, Lee, Maria, and Ophelia. In this study, the water vapor sources for precipitation for these six MHs we...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
2022
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11093/3236 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035554 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JD035554 |
Summary: | The 2017 North Atlantic tropical cyclone season was among the most active in the last two decades, with 17 named storms, of which six reached the major hurricane (MH) intensity: Harvey, Irma, Jose, Lee, Maria, and Ophelia. In this study, the water vapor sources for precipitation for these six MHs were examined using a Lagrangian approach. The particle dispersion model, FLEXPART, was used to identify moisture sources. Overall, the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico were identified as the main moisture sources, supplying ∼75%–85% of the atmospheric humidity gained by tropical cyclones, which resulted in precipitation associated with the MHs. However, the South Atlantic Ocean also contributed considerable humidity (∼14%–20%), and the remaining ∼1%–5% originated from the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. The accumulated moisture uptake higher than the 90th percentile generally appeared within approximately 3° to 5° of the TC trajectory. Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A2020/193 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B2019/070 Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C2021/44 Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. RTI2018-095772-B-I00 |
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