Tropical wave

[1] Tropical waves form in the easterly flow along the equatorial side of the subtropical ridge or belt of high air pressure which lies north and south of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

After the passage of the trough line, the wind veers southeast, the humidity abruptly rises, and the atmosphere destabilizes.

An example of this was Hurricane Claudette in 2003, where the original wave had winds of 45 mph (72 km/h) before developing a closed low-level circulation.

[5] After developing into a tropical cyclone, some of those systems can then reach the Central Pacific Ocean, such as Hurricane Lane in 2018.

[7] During the summer months, tropical waves can extend northward as far as the desert of the southwestern United States, producing spells of intensified shower activity embedded within the prevailing monsoon regime.

Strong thunderstorm activity can be associated with the features when located east of a tropical upper tropospheric trough.

[10] The term was first publicly seen in an Air Force satellite interpretation handbook written by Hank Brandli in 1976.