Cyclone track prediction by a quasi-Lagrangian limited area model

Summary. ?Cyclone track predictions in the Indian seas (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea) with a quasi-Lagrangian model (QLM) have been attempted. QLM has a horizontal resolution of 40 km and 16 sigma levels in the vertical. It is integrated in a domain of about 4400 × 4400 km². A new initialization procedure to provide initial fields for running the model has been designed. The initialization procedure consists of updating the global model forecasts, used as first guess, provided by the National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi. A new version of IMD’s operational optimum interpolation scheme has been created to suit the QLM grid structure. Lateral boundary conditions are computed from the extended forecasts of NCMRWF. The track forecasts in each case show a reasonable skill of the forecast model in predicting the direction of movement within acceptable limits of forecast errors, which are comparable to some of the best models operated by advanced NWP centers of the world. Even the recurving storms are well predicted. Evolution of the vertical motion fields are also studied which reveal some interesting features, which are described in detail in the text. The composited vertical motion fields are projected against observed rainfall distribution, which show a good spatial correspondence. Received August 9, 2001; revised March 12, 2002; accepted June 17, 2002 Published online: May 8, 2003