The Impact of Hurricane-Maria Generated Gravity Waves on Structure and Dynamics of the UTLS

One of the most devastating storm in US history was Hurricane Maria; it caused huge land damages, more causalities, and the full collapse of the electrical power grid in the entire island of Puerto Rico. But its impact on the middle atmosphere is not well understood, especially the hurricane-generated gravity wave activity in Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) region. In order to understand the impact of the convective evolution of Hurricane Maria on the structure and dynamics of the UTLS over Arecibo, we simulate Hurricane Maria from its depression stage (September 16, 2017) to its weakening stage (September 30, 2017) by using the WRF model with a single domain. Hurricane-generated gravity waves in their convective evolution are studied, and the impact of those gravity waves on the structure and dynamics of the UTLS is examined along the hurricane's trajectory. The results of these analyses will be discussed to understand the changes in the UTLS region by hurricane-generated gravity waves.