Twin Tropical Cyclones associated with Madden-Julian Oscillation in the Indian Ocean

September 15, 2009 by kuoks

Authors:

Bow-Wen Shen, Kwo-Sen Kuo

Figures:

Legend:

Figure 1 Organized convection associated with MJO over the Indian Ocean at 0630 UTC 1 May 2002. Figure 2 Image of the first pair of twin TCs at 0630 6 May 2002 formed when the MJO moved eastward. Figure 3 Both pairs of twin TCs clearly visible at 0630 9 May 2002.

Temporal Information:

Tue, 04/30/2002 - 23:00

Data Description:

METEOSAT 5 visible images.

Background:

It has been documented that the nearly simultaneous formation of two Tropical Cyclones (TCs) straddling the equator at low latitudes occasionally may occur in the Indian Ocean and West Pacific Ocean (<i>e.g.</i>, Lander 1990). These TCs are called "twins" as they are nearly symmetric with respect to the equator.

Relevance:

Twin cyclones are rare; double twins are rarer. In early May 2002,large-scale organized convection associated with an MJO event was observed in the Indian Ocean (Fig. 1). While the MJO was progressing eastward, six TCs formed subsequently, including two pairs of twins reported here (Figs. 2 and 3).

Reference:

Lander, M, 1990: Evolution of the cloud pattern during the formation of tropical cyclone twins symmetrical with respect to the equator. Mon. Wea. Rev., 118, 1194-1202.

Moncrieff, M. W., M. A. Shapiro, J. M. Slingo, and F. Molteni, 2007: Organized tropical convection and the global circulation: Collaborative research at the intersection of weather and climate. WMO Bulletin, 56(3), 1-9.

Shen, B.-W., et al., 2006: Hurricane forecasts with a global mesoscale-resolving model on the NASA Columbia supercomputer. Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L, doi:10.1029/2006GL026143.

Shen, B.-W., W. K. Tao, R. Atlas, Y.-L. Lin, C. D. Peters-Lidard, J.-D. Chern, K.-S. Kuo, 2009: Forecasting tropical cyclogenesis with a global mesoscale model: Preliminary results for twin Tropical Clones in May 2002. Geophys. Res. Lett. (submitted).

Citation:

Twin Tropical Cyclones associated with Madden-Julian Oscillation in the Indian Ocean, Bow-Wen Shen, Kwo-Sen Kuo, Journal of Earth Science Phenomena, 2009, 13.

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