The following article, written by Dave Malmquist, apeared in Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, v. 80, p. 79-80, 1999.
Most tropical cyclones weaken as they come ashore or track poleward over colder ocean water.
Yet some tropical cyclones experience a suite of changes that may cause them to remain a threat after landfall or as they move poleward from the tropics. The RPI is an industry-funded partnership between climate scientists and insurers operated through the Bermuda Biological Station for Research. During the RPI workshop, meteorologists and insurance executives identified areas where knowledge of extratropical transitions is lacking or incomplete, and determined future research directions in the context of insurance industry needs. Extratropical transitions are important to insurers because tropical cyclones that undergo this process typically accelerate and can re-intensify, bringing damaging winds and heavy rains well inland after landfall or to regions that are not generally affected by these conditions during the tropical cyclone season. Transitioning cyclones also typically grow larger, so that the swath and duration of their damaging winds and heavy precipitation increases.