A Global Unified View of ENSO Modulation of Tropical Cyclones

This study examines the variability in tropical cyclone (TC) activities in all ocean basins associated with the life cycle of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) during the last 43 years (1966-2008). The datasets used include TC data from the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) and large-scale surface and atmospheric conditions from NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis. The results show that enhancement of TC activity propagates eastward during the ENSO life cycle. An important finding is that TC activity over the North Indian Ocean is significantly correlated with ENSO. TC genesis to the east of Australia also show interesting feature unreported in previous studies. Case studies for 9 major El Niño events and 8 major La Nina events confirm these results. Detailed results will be presented at the conference.