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The spatial distribution of trends in tropical cyclone (TC) intensity over the western North Pacific Ocean (WNP) during the period 1977-2010 was examined using five TC datasets. The spatial distribution of the TC intensity was expressed by seasonally averaged maximum wind speeds in 5° × 5° horizontal grids. The trends showed a spatial inhomogeneity, with a weakening in the tropical Philippine Sea (TP) and a strengthening in southern Japan and its southeastern ocean (SJ). This distribution could be described by TC intensification rate and genesis frequency, with the aid of the climatological direction of TC movement. The increasing intensification rate around the center of the WNP could mostly account for the increasing intensity over the SJ region, while the influence of both intensification rate and local genesis frequency mattered in the TP region because of the effect of the newly generated and less-developed weak TCs on the TC intensity. Thermodynamic variables (e.g., sea surface temperature, potential intensity, and 26°C isotherm depth) showed almost homogeneous changes in space, possibly favoring intensification rate and genesis frequency over the entire WNP. However, the decreasing intensification rate and genesis frequency in some tropical regions conflicted with the impact of thermodynamic variables; rather, they were in accord with the impact of dynamic variables (i.e., vorticity and wind shear). In conclusion, the spatially inhomogeneous trends in TC intensity could be explained by considering the thermodynamic and dynamic aspects in combination through intensification rate and genesis frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourteen named tropical cyclones (TCs) formed in the western North Pacific (WNP) in 2010, representing the lowest count since 1951. Both low activity during the typhoon season (June-October) and quiescence during the pre- and posttyphoon seasons were major contributing factors. Despite overall low activity, TC activity along land boundaries was enhanced because the overall genesis locations of TCs shifted to the north and west and a majority of them affected the coastal countries in the WNP. These features are attributed to the expansion of the subtropical high and weakening of the monsoon trough associated with the rapid transition of the 2009/10 El Niño to the 2010/11 La Niña. The National Typhoon Center (NTC) in South Korea utilizes the recently developed track-pattern-based model of the hybrid statistical-dynamical type as the operational long-range TC forecast system. This model fairly forecast the anomalous spatial distribution of TC track density for the 2010 typhoon season. A higher-than-normal track density was successfully forecast near Korea and Japan. This is attributed to the overall skillful forecast of TC count for each pattern by the NTC model, though some deficiencies in forecasting extremes for some patterns are evident. The total seasonal genesis frequency integrated over the seven patterns is well below normal (about 16.4) close to the observations. The fair predictability in 2010 using the NTC model is attributed to the skillful forecast of the ENSO transition by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction's Climate Forecast System, in addition to the validity of the NTC model itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]