Black dotted lines indicate the height corresponding to the maximum boundary layer θe. Note that this height follows a constant surface because and are nearly equivalent in the θ θ θe upper troposphere and this value represents the maximum boundary layer found in the entire θe Neglecting the effects of fusion and condensate loading, which approximately cancel transect. (Molinari et al. 2012), this contour represents the level of neutral buoyancy for the most unstable boundary layer air parcel in the transect. As Patricia rapidly intensified from tropical storm strength on 21 October (Fig. 1a,d) to category 3 hurricane strength on 22 October (Fig. 1b,e), began to increase in the upper θ troposphere near the storm center. For example, the maximum at 12 km increased from θ approximately 360 K on 21 October to 371 K on 22 October. Meanwhile, the maximum boundary layer rose from 360 K to 371 K. Note that increased to values greater than the θe θ maximum boundary layer observed on either of the two days, as indicated by darker oranges θe appearing between the dotted black line and the tropopause in Fig. 1e. This suggests that the increasing above the dashed black line cannot be attributed directly to surface-based θ convection. During this period, the tropopause remains mostly flat near 17 km altitude, although two upward bulges appear just to the southeast of the center. Note, however, that the cold point for dropsonde 15 in Fig. 1e is at the very top of the sounding, meaning that the tropopause might be higher than indicated there, creating one upward bulge rather than the two discrete maxima shown here. These upward bulges correspond to a decreasing pressure and increasing at the θ tropopause between October 21 and 22 (Fig. 2 b,c). During this time, the tropopause temperature also increased throughout the storm’s inner core (Fig. 2a), with the maximum increase of about 4°C occurring near the storm center.
Black dotted lines indicate the height corresponding to the maximum boundary layer θe. Note that this height follows a constant θ surface because θ and θe are nearly equivalent in the upper troposphere and this value represents the maximum boundary layer θe found in the entire transect. Neglecting the effects of fusion and condensate loading, which approximately cancel (Molinari et al. 2012), this contour represents the level of neutral buoyancy for the most unstable boundary layer air parcel in the transect. As Patricia rapidly intensified from tropical storm strength on 21 October (Fig. 1a,d) to category 3 hurricane strength on 22 October (Fig. 1b,e), θ began to increase in the upper troposphere near the storm center. For example, the maximum θ at 12 km increased from approximately 360 K on 21 October to 371 K on 22 October. Meanwhile, the maximum boundary layer θe rose from 360 K to 371 K. Note that θ increased to values greater than the maximum boundary layer θe observed on either of the two days, as indicated by darker oranges appearing between the dotted black line and the tropopause in Fig. 1e. This suggests that the increasing θ above the dashed black line cannot be attributed directly to surface-based convection. During this period, the tropopause remains mostly flat near 17 km altitude, although two upward bulges appear just to the southeast of the center. Note, however, that the cold point for dropsonde 15 in Fig. 1e is at the very top of the sounding, meaning that the tropopause might be higher than indicated there, creating one upward bulge rather than the two discrete maxima shown here. These upward bulges correspond to a decreasing pressure and increasing θ at the tropopause between October 21 and 22 (Fig. 2 b,c). During this time, the tropopause temperature also increased throughout the storm’s inner core (Fig. 2a), with the maximum increase of about 4°C occurring near the storm center.
Duran&Molinari_2016.docx