Dry air and vertical wind shear on tropical cyclone development

How does the synergistic effect of midlevel dry air and vertical wind shear affect tropical cyclone development?

• Methodology: Utilizing Dr. George Bryan's Cloud Model 1 to simulate tropical cyclone development for a variety of initial relative humidity environments and vertical wind shear magnitudes.​
• Findings: The three-dimensional structure of two ventilation pathways affect the distribution of convection and tropical cyclone development. The two ventilation pathways are:

1. Radial ventilation: Low-equivalent potential temperature air is fluxed inward toward the tropical cyclone center to stunt development.
2. Downdraft ventilation: Low-equivalent potential temperature air is fluxed downward into the subcloud layer to stunt development.

The northern vortex and tropical cyclone development

Can a positive vorticity anomaly north of the African easterly jet contribute to tropical cyclogenesis? ​

• Methodology: ​Utilizing the Advanced Research WRF to simulate the merging of two vorticity anomalies located north and south of the African easterly jet. 
• Methodology: Conducting a vorticity budget to determine the relative or collective importance of low-level vorticity of the northern wave and diabatically-generated low-level vorticity of the southern wave on the low-level vorticity generation of the merged cyclonic circulation. The stronger the cyclonic circulation, the greater the chance of tropical cyclone development.

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