Origin and propagation of a disturbance associated with an African easterly wave as a precursor of hurricane Alberto (2000)

A mesoscale convective complexes (MCC) and a mesovortex (MV), associated with a tropical disturbance that would become Hurricane Alberto, which were embedded within a wave-like disturbance over North Africa were proposed. The stationary mode corresponded with the generation of convective systems over the Ethiopian Highlands (EH) with a period of about 2 to 3 days. The average wavelength was roughly estimated to be about 2200 km. It was found that the availability of water vapor is the most essential factor controlling the convective cycle of the pre-Alberto disturbance over the African continent, based on EOM and NCAR moisture datasets.