Dr. Paul Reasor, Ph.D. Colorado State University, 2000
(850) 644-4056
Assistant Professor
Dynamic meteorology, tropical cyclones (TCs); radar meteorology. Current research topics include TC genesis and intensity change, mid-latitude mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) longevity, and laboratory vortex resiliency. Idealized numerical models are employed to understand the impact of strain/shear flows on vortex robustness. In the case of TCs, a mechanism intrinsic to the dry dynamics has been identified, believed largely responsible for the resiliency of the vertically-sheared vortex. The impact of convective asymmetry on the general evolution of the TC in shear is currently under investigation. The TC genesis problem is studied using surface winds derived from QuikSCAT measurements. The surface wind evolution of developing and non-developing tropical disturbances is examined in the light of recent observational and theoretical work on the organization of low-level vorticity during the initial genesis phase.
A second research thrust is the utilization of Doppler radar to document the 3D structure and time evolution of geophysical vortex winds. Unique data sets covering a range of phenomena from TC genesis to the formation of broad mid-latitude MCVs are analyzed in conjunction with the idealized modeling to gain a new understanding of the vortex dynamics.
Selected Publications
2005: Reasor, P. D., M. T. Montgomery, and L. F. Bosart. Mesoscale observations of the genesis of Hurricane Dolly (1996). Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 62, 3151-3171
2004: Reasor, P. D., and M. T. Montgomery. A new look at the problem
of tropical cyclones in vertical shear flow: vortex resiliency. Journal
of the Atmospheric Sciences, 61, 3-22
2002: Schecter, D. A., M. T. Montgomery, and P. D. Reasor. A
theory for the vertical alignment of a quasi-geostrophic
vortex. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 59, 150-168
2001: Reasor, P. D., and M. T. Montgomery. Three-dimensional
alignment and corotation of weak, TC-like vortices via linear vortex
Rossby waves. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 58, 2306-2330
2000: Reasor, P. D., M. T. Montgomery, F. D. Marks,
J. F. Gamache. Low-wavenumber structure and evolution of the hurricane
inner core observed by airborne dual-Doppler radar. Monthly Weather
Review, 128, 1653-1680
1999: Reasor, P. D., and M. T. Montgomery. Diagnosing the
QBO's influence on circumpolar vortex variability using MSU
brightness temperatures and MSU-derived winds. Monthly Weather Review,
127, 46-56
