Impact of Initial Storm Intensity and Size on the Simulation of Tropical Cyclone Track and Western Pacific Subtropical High Extent

Typhoon Megi, the 13th typhoon of the 2010 typhoon season, was selected for case study by utilizing the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Twelve sensitivity experiments with various initial tropical cyclone (TC) intensities and sizes were conducted to investigate their impacts on the simulation of typhoon track. Interaction between TC and the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) was also analyzed to explore the mechanism for the impact on TC track of the initial TC intensity and size. Numerical results indicate that the simulated TC size and TC track are sensitive to initial TC intensity and size. Stronger initial TC intensity and larger initial TC size often lead to larger simulated TC size and make TC turn northward earlier. Further analysis suggests that, with the increase of initial TC intensity and size, more air mass enters into the TC region, which subsequently reduces the extent of WPSH. As a result, the steering flow changes significantly and eventually causes the TC to turn northward earlier. The present study confirms that the initial TC intensity and size have certain influences on the TC track simulation, which demonstrates the importance of accurate initial condition for successful simulation of the TC intensity and TC track. Moreover, it also deepens our understanding of the interaction between TC and WPSH, provides helpful clues for the TC track change study, and discusses the future directions for improvement of TC track forecast.