Subtropical or Tropical what's the difference?

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tbstorm
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Subtropical or Tropical what's the difference?

#1 Postby tbstorm » Sat Sep 08, 2007 4:53 pm

What is the difference? I'm looking for technical answer, not the "A Subtropical Storm has characteristics of both tropical storms and non - tropical storms".

Does it have to do with the temperature profile across the storm?
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Brent
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Re: Subtropical or Tropical what's the difference?

#2 Postby Brent » Sat Sep 08, 2007 5:09 pm

Subtropical:

The most common type is an upper-level cold low with circulation extending to the surface layer and maximum sustained winds generally occurring at a radius of about 100 miles or more from the center. In comparison to tropical cyclones, such systems have a relatively broad zone of maximum winds that is located farther from the center, and typically have a less symmetric wind field and distribution of convection.

Tropical:

A warm-core non-frontal synoptic-scale cyclone, originating over tropical or subtropical waters, with organized deep convection and a closed surface wind circulation about a well-defined center. Once formed, a tropical cyclone is maintained by the extraction of heat energy from the ocean at high temperature and heat export at the low temperatures of the upper troposphere. In this they differ from extratropical cyclones, which derive their energy from horizontal temperature contrasts in the atmosphere (baroclinic effects).
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wjs3
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Re: Subtropical or Tropical what's the difference?

#3 Postby wjs3 » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:34 pm

Maybe this will help. It's an online lesson form the weather certificate program at Penn State

https://courseware.e-education.psu.edu/ ... lones.html

Not totally technical, but well done and should help, I hope.

WJS3
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