SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE RESPONSE TO TYPHOON MORAKOT(2009) AND ITS INFLUENCE

While previous studies indicate that typhoons can decrease sea surface temperature(SST) along their tracks, a few studies suggest that the cooling patterns in coastal areas are different from those in the open sea. However, little is known about how the induced cooling coupled with the complex ocean circulation in the coastal areas can affect tropical cyclone track and intensity. The sea surface responses to the land falling process of Typhoon Morakot(2009) are examined observationally and its influences on the activity of the typhoon are numerically simulated with the WRF model. The present study shows that the maximum SST cooling associated with Morakot occurred on the left-hand side of the typhoon track during its landfall. Numerical simulations show that, together with the SST gradients associated with the coastal upwelling and mesoscale oceanic vortices, the resulting SST cooling can cause significant difference in the typhoon track, comparable to the current 24-hour track forecasting error. It is strongly suggested that it is essential to include the non-uniform SST distribution in the coastal areas for further improvement in typhoon track forecast.