Quantifying Tropical Cyclone Vertical Mass Flux and Its Relationship to Precipitation Structures Under Varying Sea Surface Temperatures

Vertical mass flux (MF) describes the rate at which air and water vapor move upward or downward in an atmospheric column. MF is related to cloud and precipitation formation. This work examines the relationship between MF and characteristics of tropical cyclones (TCs) in idealized Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations. MF in TC inner core convective regions is quasi‐linearly related to TC intensity and mean precipitation. These relationships are much weaker in stratiform regions and in the TC outer rainbands. In simulations with warmer sea surface temperatures, upward MF occurs more frequently in the inner core and less frequently in the outer region. Over Days 2–7 of the simulations, about two‐thirds of the MF occurs in the inner cores. Greater evaporation in the lower atmosphere in outer rainband convective regions compared to in the inner core may explain the weaker relationship between MF and TC precipitation in the outer rainbands.