The slab boundary layer model for a translating vortex revisited

The dynamics of the slab boundary layer model for a translating vortex are re-examined in the light of the continued relevance of this model as a benchmark for understanding the flow asymmetries in tropical cyclones. This benchmark model has proved useful in understanding the flow asymmetries in a new three-dimensional cloud-permitting model for an intensifying vortex embedded in a uniform flow. Aspects of the slab boundary layer model are explored, focussing on the structure of the main forcing terms in the radial and tangential momentum equations in the co-moving reference frame and their interplay. The new approach includes an explanation for the effects of vortex size on the boundary-layer wind behaviour.