Question

(i) A typical hurricane at, say, 30? latitude may have low-level winds of 50 m s?1at a radius of 50 km from its center: do you expect this flow to be geostrophic? (ii) Two weather stations near 45? N are 400 km apart, one exactly to the northeast of the other. At both locations, the 500- mbar wind is exactly southerly at 30 m s?1 . At the north- eastern station, the height of the 500- mbar surface is 5510 m; what is the height of this surface at the other station? What vertical displacement would produce the same pressure difference between the two stations? Comment on your answer. You may take ?s = 1.2 kg m?3.

Answer 1

ii)