On the radial variation of the tangential wind speed outside the radius of maximum wind during Hurricane Wilma (2005)

Brian W. Blanchard and S.A. Hsu

The radial variation of the tangential wind speed (Vr) outside the radius of maximum wind (Rmax) in a hurricane has been formulated in the literature that Vr = Vmax (Rmax/r)x where Vmax is the maximum wind, r is the distance from Rmax, and x is an exponent. When Hurricane Wilma was over the northwest Caribbean Sea in October 2005, the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) operated two buoys with wind speed measurement at 10 m. Since both buoys were located on the right-hand side of the track, this provides a good opportunity to determine the exponent x objectively. It is found that, based on 27 samples, x = 0.62 ± 0.18. This result is in good agreement with the value of 0.7 found in the literature.

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