Remote impact of blocking highs on the sudden track reversal of tropical cyclones.

Previous work showed that some tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western Pacific Ocean undergo sudden track reversal, and the onset, maintenance and decay of blocking highs (BHs) coexisted with 19 of the studied TCs with sudden track reversal. In these cases, the phase relations between the BH, the continental high (CH), the subtropical high (SH) and the suddenly reversed TCs could be classified into types A, B, C and D. Types C and D were the focal point of this follow-up study, in which Typhoon Pabuk (2007) and Lupit (2009) were employed to conduct numerical simulations. The results showed that the reversed tracks of Pabuk (2007) and Lupit (2009) could have been affected by the BH, particularly in terms of the turning location and the trend of movement after turning. Specifically, the two main features for Pabuk (2007) in the BH perturbations were the deflection of its turning point and a distinct anticlockwise rotation. Lupit (2009) deviated to the southwest and finally made landfall in the Philippines, or experienced further eastward movement, in the perturbed BH. The impact mechanisms can be attributed to the change in the vorticity field transported from the BH, leading to an intensity variation of midlatitude systems. BHs may have a positive feedback effect on the strength of the westerly trough (TR), as indicated by a weakened and strengthened TR corresponding to negative and positive BH perturbations, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]