In this study, vorticity analysis is carried out on the ECMWF reanalysisdata of sea surface wind speed, to identify the track of tropical cyclones(TCs) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean region over a period of threeyears (2013-2015). The maximum wind speed in the adjacent of theidentified TC centre is also extracted from the ECMWF reanalysis data.The typhoon tracks and the maximum wind speed extracted fromreanalysis data are then compared with the Best-Track data to assessthe representation of TCs in the ECMWF reanalysis data. The resultsshow that the locations of TC tracks can be reasonably determined fromthe ECMWF data by the vorticity in the studied period. However, thecorrelation between the vorticity and intensity of the TC is poor. Themaximum wind speed of the TCs are found to be significantly lowerthan the Best-Track data. This study provides some quantification andguidance on the use of ECMWF reanalysis data for the predictions ofstorm waves and surges in the NWP region.
展开▼
