Luschen et al. (2025) Stratiform and Anvil Cloud‐Radiative Forcing in Tropical Cyclogenesis

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-28
• Authors: Emily Luschen, James H. Ruppert, Rosimar Rios‐Berrios, Shu Wu, Yunji Zhang
• DOI: 10.1029/2025gl119765

Research Groups

[Information not available in the abstract.]

Short Summary

This study investigates the role of convective-scale cloud-radiative forcing (CRF) in tropical cyclone (TC) genesis, hypothesizing that CRF in stratiform clouds weakens downdrafts and moistens the environment. Using a convection-permitting WRF model, the research finds that CRF, particularly from stratiform and anvil clouds, reduces downdraft strength and number, increases humidity and moist entropy, suppresses ventilation, and ultimately accelerates TC development.

Objective

• To examine the hypothesis that cloud-radiative forcing (CRF) within stratiform cloud regions weakens downdrafts, allowing the environment to moisten more easily, thereby influencing tropical cyclone (TC) genesis.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Convection-permitting scale
• Temporal Scale: Tropical cyclone development period

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (convection-permitting ensemble framework)
• Data sources: Model simulations (WRF)

Main Results

• Cloud-radiative forcing (CRF) leads to fewer and weaker stratiform downdrafts.
• CRF results in greater humidity and moist entropy in the developing tropical cyclone (TC) core.
• CRF implies suppressed ventilation within the TC core.
• Stratiform and anvil CRF dominate the observed effects on downdrafts and moistening.
• This cloud-radiative feedback accelerates TC development.
• CRF promotes faster intensification of both the mid-level vortex and the surface cyclone.

Contributions

• Provides a mechanistic understanding of how convective-scale cloud-radiative processes influence tropical cyclone genesis and intensification.
• Demonstrates that CRF, particularly from stratiform and anvil clouds, accelerates TC development by modifying downdrafts and enhancing environmental moistening.
• Highlights the importance of cloud-radiative feedback in the early stages of TC formation.

Funding

[Information not available in the abstract.]

Citation

@article{Luschen2025Stratiform,
  author = {Luschen, Emily and Ruppert, James H. and Rios‐Berrios, Rosimar and Wu, Shu and Zhang, Yunji},
  title = {Stratiform and Anvil Cloud‐Radiative Forcing in Tropical Cyclogenesis},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025gl119765},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl119765}
}