Tropical Cyclone Interaction in the Western Pacific
MTSAT-2 10.8 µm infrared imagery (click image to animate)
When two tropical cyclones are within close proximity to each other, they will typically start a rotation around a common center. This interaction, called the Fujiwhara Effect, may be occurring in the image loop above. Typhoon Bolaven approaches Typhoon Tembin, and the distance between the two reaches a minimum on 23 August, after which time Tembin moves west and Bolaven moves northwest. Subsequent to Bolaven’s recurvature over the Korean peninsula, Tembin moves northward into midlatitudes as well.
850-mb vorticity maps from CIMSS Tropical Weather Website (click image to animate)
The CIMSS Tropical Website includes 850-mb vorticity analyses. A 10-day loop that shows the motion of Tembin and Bolaven is shown above.