Observational analysis of wind characteristics in the near-surface layer during the landfall of Typhoon Mujigae (2015)

We investigated the wind characteristics in the near-surface layer during the landfall of Typhoon Mujigae (2015) based on observations from wind towers in the coastal areas of Guandong province. Typhoon Mujigae made landfall in this region from 01:00 UTC to 10:00 UTC on October 4, 2015. In the region influenced by the eyewall of the tropical cyclone, the horizontal wind speed was characterized by a double peak, the wind direction changed by 〉180°, the vertical wind speed increased by three to four times, and the angle of attack increased significantly to a maximum of 7°, exceeding the recommended values in current design criteria. The vertical wind profile may not conform to a power law distribution in the near-surface layer in the region impacted by the eyewall and spiral rainband. The gust factors were relatively dispersed when the horizontal wind speed was small and tended to a smaller value and became more stable with an increase in the horizontal wind speed. The variation in the gust factors was the combined result of the height, wind direction, and circulation systems of the tropical cyclone. The turbulence intensity and the downwind turbulence energy spectrum both increased notably in the eyewall and spiral rainband and no longer satisfied the assumption of isotropy in the inertial subrange and the −5/3 law. This result was more significant in the eyewall area than in the spiral rainband. These results provide a reference for forecasting tropical cyclones, wind-resistant design, and hazard prevention in coastal areas of China to reduce the damage caused by high winds induced by tropical cyclones.