A statistical study of wind field distribution within extra-tropical cyclones in North Pacific ocean from 7-years of QuikSCAT wind data

In this paper we used QuikSCAT measurements over extratropical storms that reached hurricane force (HF) wind strength in the North Pacific over a period of 7 cold seasons from 2001-2008 to study the average wind speed distribution within these intense cyclones. During this period a total of 225 cyclones with HF winds were identified and tracked in the North Pacific. December proved to be most active month with 56 separate storms reaching HF strength over the 7 year period. The peak activity was found to be over the western portion of the ocean basin. The Pacific cyclones appear to have preferred tracks and have an average heading of ~50° from north. The average storm motion was found to be ~24 knots. Most hurricane force events last between 6-24 hours. 50% of the 12 hour events occurred during December and 75% of the 30 hour events occurred during November and December.