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• Cyclone Nargis
• Typhoon Vamei
Dr Adam D. Switzer
Singapore NRF Fellow & Nanyang Assistant Professor - Principal Investigator, Tectonics Group
Earth Observatory of Singapore | NTU N2-01A-04 Tel: (65) 6592-1762 Email: aswitzer@ntu.edu.sg
Coastal hazards II – Lecture objectives
At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
• Describe where tropical cyclones and mid latitude storms occur and
why?
• Understand the difference between a storm and a cyclone.
• Explain with examples the saffir-simpson scale
• Comprehend the coriolis affect and how it relates to storms and
cyclones
• Review Cyclone Nargis and the damage caused
• Understand the genesis of typhoon Vamei and why that storm is
scientifically important.
Lakey, Sumbawa
Areas at Risk
• Northern hemisphere tropical cyclones:
– Rotate counterclockwise, track clockwise
• Southern hemisphere tropical cyclones:
– Rotate clockwise, track counterclockwise
Tropical cyclones
• Tropical cyclones are also called Typhoons or Hurricanes
• They are driven by the release of large amounts of latent heat which
occurs when moist air is carried upwards and water vapor condenses.
Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones
Air pressure
gradients on
earths surface
• Pressure gradient:
high pressure low
pressure
• Airflow is perpendicular to
isobars Figure 6.7
Cyclones
Coriolis effect on a rotating platform, as one person throws a ball to another person.
Converge and divergence
• A cyclone has convergence near ground but divergence at
upper level.
• An Anticyclone has divergence near ground, convergence at
upper level.
Formation of Cyclones
• Rising air and condensation can
build up into convective ‘chimney’
of thunderstorms
• Convection may strengthen when
air rises to high elevations without
strong winds to shear off and
dissipate storms
• Begin to develop over warm
seawater (26°C), between 5 and
20 degrees latitude
• Vertical wind shear must be
minimal
• Becomes cyclone force when winds
exceed sustained velocity of 119
km/hr
• Highest wind speeds exist along
edge of eye wall
Formation of Cyclones
• Warm, moist air rises and spreads
at top of chimney
• Warm air expands, cools and
releases latent heat
• Eye of cyclone can be as much as
20oC warmer than surrounding air
• Rising air pulls more air into
center of cyclone at low elevations
• Storm may be from 160 to more
than 800 km in diameter
• Forward motion averages 25
km/hr
• Wind speed and pressure drop
abruptly in the eye.
Pressure and winds
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
Tropical cyclones
Singapore
Formation and
anatomy of a
tropical cyclone
Intensity series
Tropical Tropical Storm Tropical cyclone
Depression
998
1000 998 1008 988 978
1008
What is storm surge?
Wind waves
Normal tidal
range Ocean
Storm surge
Case study - Cyclone Nargis
Cyclone
Nargis’ path
Hong Kong
Singapore
Tropical cyclone tracks from 1985 to 2005.
Timeline to disaster
April 27 - the India
Meteorological Department
(IMD) classified the system
as a tropical depression
IMD upgrade it to cyclonic
storm Nargis.
April 28 - Nargis is nearly
stationary and intensifying.
That day the Joint Typhoon
Warning Centre (JTWC)
upgraded the storm to
cyclone status.
Timeline to disaster
April 29 - JTWC estimated
Nargis reached winds of 160
km/h. IMD forecast landfall
in Bangladesh or
southeastern India. Cyclone
becomes disorganized,
weakened and heads
northeast.
April 30 – cyclone intensifies
and heads to the east before
turning northeast on May 1
Timeline to disaster
May 1 - Cyclone Nargis began
rapidly intensifying, due to the H
arrival of a new weather front.
May 2 - JTWC estimates the
cyclone reached peak winds of
215 km/h (135 mph) as it
approached the coast of
Myanmar
Singapore
Analysis later revealed that a weak, quasi-stagnant disturbance off Borneo interacted
with a strong, cold surge off Asia that set up a background rotation when it hit the
island. When the surge met the local disturbance, spin happened, and a typhoon
rapidly emerged causing strong winds in both hemispheres..