A nationwide radar network reveals typhoon wind profile characteristics in the lower troposphere over China

Abstract Accurate characterization of typhoon wind profiles throughout the lower troposphere remains challenging, as current understanding depends heavily on fragmented observations from shallow layers (<500 m) and isolated case studies. To address this gap, this study analyses a unique nationwide dataset obtained from 186 wind profile radars during 45 typhoons affecting China (2020–2024), enabling a systematic characterization of wind profiles up to 2 km. Statistical analysis identifies four distinct wind profile patterns (Monotonically-increasing, Near-uniform, Jet-like, and others), which are most frequent in the rear-right quadrant and least frequent in the front-left quadrant. Radially, Monotonically-increasing profile types dominate the outer-core region, while Near-uniform and Jet-like types concentrate primarily in the inner-core region. Notably, Monotonically-increasing and Jet-like profiles are more prevalent in intense typhoons than the Near-uniform type. A structured set of fitting parameters for wind profile models is established, categorized by the identified profile patterns, typhoon-relative positions, and terrain types. The findings offer crucial observational benchmarks to support wind profile modeling and engineering applications in typhoon-prone regions.