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Impact of ocean warm layer thickness on the intensity of hurricane Katrina in a regional coupled model

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Abstract

The effect of pre-storm subsurface thermal structure on the intensity of hurricane Katrina (2005) is examined using a regional coupled model. The Estimating Circulation and Climate of Ocean (ECCO) ocean state estimate is used to initialize the ocean component of the coupled model, and the source of deficiencies in the simulation of Katrina intensity is investigated in relation to the initial depth of 26 °C isotherm (D26). The model underestimates the intensity of Katrina partly due to shallow D26 in ECCO. Sensitivity tests with various ECCO initial fields indicate that the correct relationship between intensity and D26 cannot be derived because D26 variability is underestimated in ECCO. A series of idealized experiments is carried out by modifying initial ECCO D26 to match the observed range. A more reasonable relationship between Katrina’s intensity and pre-storm D26 emerges: the intensity is much more sensitive to D26 than to sea surface temperature (SST). Ocean mixed layer process plays a critical role in modulating inner-core SSTs when D26 is deep, reducing mixed layer cooling and lowering the center pressure of the Katrina. Our result lends strong support to the notion that accurate initialization of pre-storm subsurface thermal structure in prediction models is critical for a skillful forecast of intensity of Katrina and likely other intense storms.

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Acknowledgments

HS and SPX thank the support from NSF, NOAA, NASA and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. HS acknowledges support from the Penzance Endowed Fund in Support of Assistant Scientists at WHOI. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions, which substantially improved the manuscript.

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  1. Physical Oceanography Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, MS#21, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    Hyodae Seo

  2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive # 0206, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Shang-Ping Xie

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  1. Hyodae Seo
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Correspondence to Hyodae Seo.

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Seo, H., Xie, SP. Impact of ocean warm layer thickness on the intensity of hurricane Katrina in a regional coupled model. Meteorol Atmos Phys 122, 19–32 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-013-0275-3

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