There are no well accepted mechanisms that can explain the annual frequency of tropical cyclones (TCs) both globally and in individual ocean basins. Recent studies using idealized models showed that the climatological frequency of TC genesis (TCG) is proportional to the Coriolis parameter associated with the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) position. In this study, we investigate the effect of the ITCZ position on TCG on the interannual time scale using observations over 1979-2020. Our results show that the TCG frequency is significantly correlated with the ITCZ position in the North Atlantic (NA) and Western North Pacific (WNP), with more TCG events in years when the ITCZ is further poleward. The ITCZ-TCG relationship in NA is dominated by TCG events in the tropics (0-20°N), while the relationship in WNP is due to TCs formed in the east sector (140-180°E). We further confirmed that the ENSO has little effect on the ITCZ-TCG relationship despite it can affects the ITCZ position and TCG frequency separately. In NA and WNP, a poleward shift of ITCZ is significantly associated with large-scale environment changes favoring TCG in the Main Development Region (MDR), However, the basin-wide TCG frequency has a weak relationship with the ITCZ in other ocean basins. We showed that a poleward ITCZ in the Eastern North Pacific and South Pacific favors TCG on the poleward flank of the MDR, whilst it suppresses TCG on the equatorward flank, leading to insignificant change in the basin-wide TCG frequency. In the South Indian Ocean, the ITCZ position has weak effect on TCG frequency due to the mixed influences of environmental conditions.

<p>In this study, we examine the effect of the Cordillera Mountain Range (CMR) in Luzon, Philippines on Tropical Cyclone (TC) precipitation. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting model, we simulated multiple TC events with three different terrain profiles: control, reduced CMR, and enhanced CMR. We find that for most of the TC cases overland precipitation increases as mountain height increases. To further understand the interaction between TC precipitation and the mountain range, we examine the effects of relevant dynamical fields, including mountain slope, incoming perpendicular wind speed, and the moist Froude Number (F<sub>w</sub>). We highlight that TC precipitation is strongly and positively correlated with the product of approaching wind speeds and mountain slope. It is hypothesized that stronger winds along steeper mountain slopes translate to vertical motion which in turn causes higher amounts of precipitation, especially during TC events. In contrast,  the linear relationships with other variables are less clear. It is also worth noting that a significant weakening of TCs may cause less rainfall overland, which is an indirect effect of the mountain range on TC precipitation. Understanding the interactions between TCs and mountain ranges may help in regional quantitative precipitation forecasting efforts in the mountainous regions of the Philippines.</p>