Tropical Cyclones: Observations and Basic Processes

Tropical cyclones are a major threat to life and property, even in the formative stages of their development. They include a number of different hazards that individually can cause significant impacts, such as extreme winds, storm surge, flooding, tornadoes, and lightning. Tropical Cyclones: Observations and Basic Processes provides a modern overview of the theory and observations of tropical cyclone structure and behavior.

The book begins by summarizing key observations of the structure, evolution, and formation of tropical cyclones. It goes on to develop a theoretical foundation for a basic understanding of tropical cyclone behavior during the storm’s life cycle. Horizontally two-dimensional dynamics of vortex motion and other non-axisymmetric features are considered first before tackling the axisymmetric balance dynamics involving the overturning circulation. Following a review of moist convective processes, later chapters focus mainly on a range of three-dimensional aspects of the tropical cyclone life cycle. Building from first principles, the book provides a state-of-the-art summary of the fundamentals of tropical cyclones aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students, tropical meteorologists, and researchers.

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• Develops a systematic foundation for understanding tropical cyclone dynamics and thermodynamics in two and three dimensions
• Provides a detailed appraisal of steady-state models and the widely accepted, but enigmatic, WISHE intensification theories
• Applies the new ideas developed in the book to a range of basic problems, including observational tests of the theory

Roger K. Smith, Emeritus Professor, 1988-2009 Professor of Meteorology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany; 1973-1988 Senior Lecturer/Reader in Mathematics, Monash University, Australia; 1971-1972 Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland; 1968-1971 Lecturer in Mathematics, Monash University, Australia; 1966-1968 Assistant Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Manchester, England. 1968 Ph. D. in Applied Mathematics, University of Manchester

Michael T. Montgomery, 2012-2022, Distinguished Professor, Department of Meteorology, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Monterey, CA; 2006-2012, Professor, Department of Meteorology, NPS; 2002-2006, Professor, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, CO, USA; 1997-2002, Associate Professor, Department of Atmospheric Science, CSU; 1992-1997, Assistant Professor, CSU; 1991-1992, U.S. Department of Energy Global Change Post-doctoral Fellow, Hurricane Research Division/NOAA, Miami, Florida; 1990-1991, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA; 1990 Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics/Dynamic Meteorology, Harvard University.