12A.5 Kinematic and thermodynamic structures of Hurricane Bob (1991) determined from a 1.3-km resolution numerical simulation

Friday, 26 May 2000: 9:00 AM
Scott A. Braun, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD; and J. Simpson and W. K. Tao

Hurricane Bob (1991) is simulated using the Penn State/NCAR mesoscale model MM5. The simulation is conducted for a 24-h period at 4-km resolution and for a 6-h period at 1.3-km resolution. The 4-km simulation is able to fairly realistically capture the intensity and structure of the storm. The 1.3-km simulation depicts very small-scale convective structures and produces a convective rain band outside of the eye wall that did not occur in the 4-km simulation. The 1.3-km results are used to characterize several kinematic structures in the storm, including low-level outflow in the eye wall, multiple outflows at upper levels, and the convective rain band structure outside of the eye wall. Thermodynamic characteristics of air parcels flowing into and rising within the eye wall will also be examined through trajectory calculations.
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