Typhoons can undergo sudden 90-degree directional changes due to specific atmospheric steering interactions.
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Peer-reviewed meteorological literature demonstrates that typhoons can undergo sudden 90-degree directional turns driven by specific atmospheric steering interactions, such as upper-level westerly troughs and shifting pressure gradient forces.
Based on the typhoon best tracks of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), ERA5 reanalysis data of ECMWF at 0.25 degrees horizontal resolution, and NOAA optimal interpolated sea surface temperature (OISST V2) data, the dynamical compositing analysis is used to study the north turning at nearly 90 degrees of 4 westward typhoons over the South China Sea (SCS). The composite analysis results show that: (1) As the typhoon goes westward into the SCS, the upper-level westerly trough moves eastward to the vicinity of 110°E in the mainland of China, and the western North Pacific subtropical high (SH) retreats eastward at the same time, which weakens the steering flow of typhoon and slowes down its movement. (2) The cold air guided by the westerly trough invades southwardly into the western part of SCS from the mainland leading to a descending and divergent airflow in the lower-to-middle atmospheric layers and enhancing the eastward pressure gradient force (PGF) in the west quadrant of the typhoon, which blocks and repesl the typhoon from moving any further westward. (3) Due to the cold air intrusion, the vertical atmospheric stratification in the west quadrant of the typhoon becomes static and stable, which may suppress the convection, impeding a typhoon’s westward motion. (4) With the cold air involving to the south of the typhoon, the direction of the PGF on the typhoon switches from eastward to northward, and the SH falling southward enhances the southwesterly airflow on the south of the typhoon at the same time. The remarkable increase of the northward steering airflows of the typhoon results in an abrupt northward turn. (5) In addition, the sea surface temperature (SST) and the ocean heat content (OHC) on the western part of the SCS is also reduced, attributed to the cold air cooling, and the typhoon is likely to avoid the cold ocean and approach a relatively warmer region. This study suggests that cold avoidance during the westward movement of typhoons is worthy of consideration in the operational forecast of typhoon tracks.
Frontiers | Impacts of environment on the sudden track change of super typhoon GAEMI(2024)
#### Atmospheric Science
Published inFrontiers in Earth Science 2.3 impact factor4.9 citescore
Part of a Research TopicAdvances in Meteorology Numerical Modeling Using Remote Sensing Observations and Artificial Intelligence Techniques34k views9 articles
## ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci., 24 June 2025
Sec. Atmospheric Science
Volume 13 - 2025 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1601840
# Impacts of environment on the sudden track change of super typhoon GAEMI(2024)
HQ
Hui Qiu 1,2*
BF
Baofei Feng 2
HQ
Haixia Qi 1
JZ
Jun Zhang 2
WG
Wenting Gong 3
JL
Jing Liu 4*
- YMYiming Ma 1,2
1. China Meteorological Administration Basin Heavy Rainfall Key Laboratory/Hubei Key Laboratory for Heavy Rain Monitoring and Warning Research, Institute of Heavy Rain, China Meteorological Administration, Wuhan, China
2. Bureau of Hydrology, Changjiang Water Resources Commission, Wuhan, China
3. River Basin Complex Administration Center, China Three Gorges Corporation, Yichang, China
4. Fujian Meteorological Observatory, Fuzhou, China
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