Speaker: Minmin Fu

Minmin will lead the discussion on "A global slowdown of tropical-cyclone translation speed" by James P. Kossin

Description: Anthropogenic warming is predicted to weaken the mean state of the large scale atmospheric circulation. This may lead to a slowdown of tropical cyclone translation speeds. A slowdown of cyclone translation is likely to increase local precipitation extremes beyond that expected from increases to mean global or cyclone precipitation rates alone, a phenomenon of great societal impact. For instance, Hurricane Harvey of 2017 serves as a potent example of the extreme local precipitation rates that are possible when a tropical cyclone traverses slowly over a region. The author presents observations over the past 68 years and argues that tropical-cyclone translation speed has decreased globally by 10% over this time, highlighting the importance of considering this effect in future climate projections [paper].