The Madden–Julian Oscillation, Barotropic Dynamics, and North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Formation. Part I: Observations

Low-level barotropic dynamics may help to explain the modulation of eastern and western North Pacific tropical cyclones by the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) during Northern Hemisphere summer. The MJO is characterized by alternating periods of westerly and easterly 850-mb zonal wind anomalies across the tropical Pacific Ocean. When MJO 850-mb wind anomalies are westerly, small-scale, slow-moving eddies grow through barotropic eddy kinetic energy (EKE) conversion from the mean flow. These growing eddies, together with strong surface convergence, 850-mb cyclonic shear, and high mean sea surface temperatures, create a favorable environment for tropical cyclone formation. Periods of strong MJO easterlies over the Pacific are characterized by lesser EKE and negligible eddy growth by barotropic conversion.