Impact of sea surface height anomalies on cyclone track

Abstract

Predicting accurate cyclone tracks is crucial for disaster management practices. The unusual westward movement of the 6-11 May 2002 Arabian Sea cyclone has been investigated through community mesoscale National Centre for Atmospheric Research model by giving different sea surface temperatures (SST) in different experiments keeping all other conditions same. In one experiment, we converted sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs) to SST. Oceanic eddies and SSHAs, representing the subsurface thermal structure, played a prominent role in the unusual westward movement of this cyclone. This is the first time that the effect of eddies and SSHAs on cyclone track has been reported.