Contribution of eye excess energy to the intensification rate of tropical cyclones: A numerical study

Abstract Contribution of the near‐surface high energy air in the eye region to tropical cyclone (TC) intensification rate (IR) has been evaluated based on idealized numerical experiments using a cloud‐resolving, nonhydrostatic atmospheric model. The results show that when the surface entropy flux was turned off in the eye region, the equivalent potential temperature and convective available potential energy in the eye were largely suppressed while the IR of the simulated storm was reduced by about 30% in the rapid intensification (RI) phase. This suggests that the near‐surface high energy air in the eye region contributed about 42% to the IR of the simulated storm. The results also showed that the number of convective bursts and the rainfall rate averaged in…