Large‐Eddy Simulation of Idealized Hurricanes at Different Sea Surface Temperatures

Abstract

Abstract Idealized hurricanes are studied at four different sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of 26°, 27°, 28°, and 29°C in six nested domains down to 62‐m grid size. For the maximum and the distribution of wind speed, domain D6 (62 m) is similar to domain D5 (185 m) showing convergence near 200 m. For SST of 26°, domain D5 does not have small‐scale turbulence structures like the other three cases, which is an extension of the previous work of Rotunno et al. (2009; https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2884.1) who only obtained resolved gusts at 62 m. The distribution function of speed changes between the 27° and 28° cases, the latter one having a second peak, related to a structural change. Finally, it is suggested that the damage potential is not simply determined by the maximum wind speed because of the distribution change so a new damage indicator that represents potential damage is proposed.

Keywords

• hurricane
• large‐eddy simulation
• sea surface temperature
• turbulence field
• high resolution
• wind damage