Abstract
Urbanization in the coastal region has increased socioeconomic losses from landfalling tropical cyclones (TCs). Although previous studies have explored the broad impacts of urbanization on TCs, the effect of heterogeneity caused by local intra-urban variability has not been examined. to address this gap, this study utilized the urban Local Climate Zone (LCZ) to capture the urban landscape heterogeneity and the impacts of this representation on the simulation of the post-landfall TCs characteristics in Houston. Taking the case of two recent TCs: Hurricane Harvey (occurred in 2017) and Tropical Storm Imelda (occurred in 2019), the study evaluated the impact of urban heterogeneity on 10-m winds, 2-m temperature, land surface temperature, and precipitation across Houston. the consideration of intra-urban heterogeneity using LCZ can improve the 10-m winds, 2-m temperature, and spatial pattern of land surface temperature. Although the cumulative rainfall remained largely similar within the experiments (with and without LCZ), incorporating intra-urban heterogeneity notably modified the spatial structure of urban rainfall, particularly in simulating heavy rainfall hot spots. These findings are consistent for both TCs and demonstrate the positive impact of incorporating intra-urban heterogeneity on the landfalling TC simulations over the Houston area.
Recommended Citation
K. Y. Fung et al., "Capturing Urban Heterogeneity Enhances Tropical Cyclones Simulation in Houston," Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 129, no. 19, article no. e2024JD040807, American Geophysical Union; Wiley, Oct 2024.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JD040807
Department(s)
Biological Sciences
Publication Status
Open Access
Keywords and Phrases
rainfall; tropical cyclone; urban heterogeneity; WRF
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2169-8996; 2169-897X
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 American Geophysical Union; Wiley, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
16 Oct 2024
Comments
Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Grant 80NSSC20K1631