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The radius of maximum wind (RMW) of a tropical cyclone is defined to be the distance between the center of the cyclone and its band of strongest winds. It is considered an important parameter in atmospheric dynamics and tropical cyclone forecasting. It should be noted that this quantity has also been recently used in the study of tornado
Tornado

A tornado is a violent, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud....
es.

RMW is traditionally measured by reconnaissance aircraft in the Atlantic basin.






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The radius of maximum wind (RMW) of a tropical cyclone is defined to be the distance between the center of the cyclone and its band of strongest winds. It is considered an important parameter in atmospheric dynamics and tropical cyclone forecasting. It should be noted that this quantity has also been recently used in the study of tornado
Tornado

A tornado is a violent, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud....
es.

Determination of RMW


Aircraft

The RMW is traditionally measured by reconnaissance aircraft in the Atlantic basin. It can also be determined on weather maps
Surface weather analysis

Surface weather analysis is a special type of weather map that provides a view of weather elements over a geographical area at a specified time based on information from ground-based weather stations....
 as the distance between the cyclone center and the system's greatest pressure gradient.

Satellite

The distance between the coldest cloud top temperature and the warmest temperatature within the eye, in infrared satellite imagery, is one method of determining RMW. The reason why this method has merit is that the strongest winds within tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....
s tend to be located under the deepest convection, which is seen on satellite imagery as the coldest cloud tops.

Its average value in the Atlantic Basin

An average value of 47 km/29.4 miles was calculated as the mean of all hurricane
Atlantic hurricane

North Atlantic tropical cyclones usually form in summer or autumn. Tropical cyclones can be broken down by intensity. Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained exceeding 74 mph ....
s with a central pressure
Pressure

Pressure is the force per unit area applied to an object in a direction surface normal to the surface. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure....
 between a pressure of 909 hPa and 993 hPa.

What RMW helps determine

The radius of maximum wind helps determine the direct strikes of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones are considered to have made a direct strike to a landmass when a tropical cyclone passes close enough to a landmass that areas inside the radius of maximum wind are experienced on land.

The radius of maximum wind is used within the maximum potential intensity equation. The Emanuel equation for Maximum Intensity Potential relies upon the winds near the RMW of a tropical cyclone to determine its ultimate potential.

The highest storm surge is normally coincident with the radius of maximum wind. Because the strongest winds within a tropical cyclone lie at the RMW, this is the region of a tropical cyclone which generates the dominant waves near the storm, and ultimately ocean swell away from the cyclone.

See also

  • Eye (cyclone)
    Eye (cyclone)

    The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30?65 km in diameter....
  • Ocean swell
  • Storm surge
    Storm surge

    Storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure area weather system, typically a tropical cyclone. Storm surge is caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface....
  • Tropical cyclone
    Tropical cyclone

    A tropical cyclone is a storm characterized by a large low pressure system center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain....
  • Wind
    WIND

    The Global Geospace Science WIND satellite is a NASA science spacecraft launched at 04:31:00 EST on November 1, 1994 from launch pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Merritt_Island%2C_Florida, Florida aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II 7925-10 rocket....