Typhoon Structure as Revealed by Aircraft Reconnaissance. Part II: Structural Variability

Abstract This is the second of two papers on the structure of northwest Pacific tropical cyclones as revealed by U.S. Air Force aircraft reconnaissance. This paper describes the varying structure of the tropical cyclone's outer-radius wind profile in relation to its inner-core intensity or minimum sea level pressure (MSLP) and eye-size characteristics. We explore this inner- to outer-radius structural relationship and its variability for the full range of cyclone central pressures, outer-core (1°–2.5° radius) wind strengths, and for radial extent of 15 m s−1 (30 kt) and 25 m s−1 (50 kt) surface winds. Results show that outer-radius wind strength and inner-core intensity can vary greatly and that there is only a weak relationship between these parameters. However, if information is available on whether an eye-wall cloud exists and what the size of the eye is, then a significant reduction in the wide variance between MSLP and outer wind radius is observed.