Impacts of particulate matter on Gulf of Mexico tropical cyclones

This research analyzes the relationship between tropical cyclones and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) for landfalling Atlantic tropical cyclones from 2000 to 2015. Daily mean PM₂.₅ concentrations were collected from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Tropical cyclone data were acquired from Tropical Prediction Center Best Track Reanalysis in Unisys weather. GRIdded Binary (GRIB formatted) data were downloaded from the Data Support Section of the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Tracks of tropical cyclones were overlaid with the interpolated daily mean PM₂.₅ concentration value. Results suggest that, in general, tracks are distant from areas with the largest PM₂.₅ concentrations. To examine the cause-effect nature of this relationship, simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model suggests that the intensity of Hurricane Lili was weakened only after passing the most PM₂.₅-polluted area in Louisiana. This result suggests that aerosol loading may weaken the intensity of tropical cyclones, at least in some cases.