An Evaluation of Hurricane Superintensity in Axisymmetric Numerical Models

Potential intensity (PI) is an analytical bound on steady, inviscid, axisymmetric hurricane wind speed. Studies have shown that simulated hurricane azimuthal wind speed can greatly exceed a PI bound on the maximum gradient wind. This disparity is called superintensity (SI) and has been attributed to the contribution of the unbalanced flow to the azimuthal wind. The goals of this study are 1) to introduce a new surface wind PI (PI s ), based on a...