Ch13 Cyclones
Ch13 Cyclones
Ch13 Cyclones
13 Extratropical cyclones
OU
425
426 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
LN
TFDUPS
PV
EC
DPMEBJS
BO
TFDUPS
- dropping 2.4 kPa or more over a 24-hour period),
the process is called explosive cyclogenesis (also
Z nicknamed a cyclone bomb). This can occur when
multiple conditions listed above are occurring at
Y TUSBUJGPSN the same location (such as when a front stalls over
1 L1B
DMPVETIJFME the Gulf Stream, with a strong amplitude Rossby-
wave trough to the west). During winter, such cy-
Figure a. clone bombs can cause intense cyclones just off the
Sketch of mid-latitude cyclone in the Southern Hemi- east coast of the USA with storm-force winds, high
sphere. waves, and blizzards or freezing rain.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 427
Cyclone Evolution
Although cyclones have their own synoptic-scale
winds circulating around the low-pressure center,
this whole system is blown toward the east by even DPPMBJS 5$ B
larger-scale winds in the general circulation such as
1B
the jet stream. As a study aid, we will first move
ET
L
V
DMP
with the cyclone center as it evolves through its 1-
day to 2-week life cycle of cyclogenesis and cycloly-
1
sis. Later, we will see where these low centers form
and move due to the general circulation.
One condition that favors cyclogenesis is a
baroclinic zone a long, narrow region of large
temperature change across a short horizontal distance
near the surface. Frontal zones such as stationary
T
VE
fronts (Fig. 13.2a) are regions of strong baroclinicity.
DMP
Above (near the tropopause) and parallel to this
baroclinic zone is often a strong jet stream (Fig. 13.2b),
Z
driven by the thermal-wind effect (see the chapters XBSN
on General Circulation, and Fronts & Airmasses). If BJS Y
conditions are right (as discussed later in this chap-
ter), the jet stream can remove air molecules from
a column of air above the front, at location D in
Fig. 13.2b. This lowers the surface pressure under C
DPPMBJS
location D, causing cyclogenesis at the surface.
BN
1B
Namely, under location D is where you would ex-
USF
L
UT
pect a surface low-pressure center to form.
KF
The resulting pressure gradient around the sur-
1
face low starts to generate lower-tropospheric winds
that circulate around the low (Fig. 13.3a, again near
the Earths surface). This is the spin-up stage so
named because vorticity is increasing as the cyclone %
intensifies. The winds begin to advect the warm
air poleward on the east side of the low and cold
air equatorward on the west side, causing a kink in
the former stationary front near the low center. The BN
SF
kinked front is wave shaped, and is called a frontal UTU
KF Z XBSN
wave. Parts of the old front advance as a warm front,
BJS
and other parts advance as a cold front. Also, these Y
winds begin to force some of the warmer air up over
the colder air, thereby generating more clouds.
If jet-stream conditions continue to be favorable,
then the low continues to intensify and mature (Fig. Figure 13.2
13.3b). As this cyclogenesis continues, the central Initial conditions favoring cyclogenesis in N. Hemisphere.
pressure drops (namely, the cyclone deepens), and (a) Surface weather map. Solid thin black lines are isobars.
winds and clouds increase as a vortex around the Dashed grey lines are isotherms. The thick black lines mark
the leading and trailing edges of the frontal zone. Grey shading
low center. Precipitation begins if sufficient mois-
indicates clouds. Fig. 13.3 shows subsequent evolution. (b) Up-
ture is present in the regions where air is rising. per-air map over the same frontal zone, where the dashed black
The advancing cold front often moves faster than arrow indicates the jet stream near the tropopause (z 11 km).
the warm front. Three reasons for this are: (1) The The grey lines are a copy of the surface isobars and frontal zone
Sawyer-Eliassen circulation tends to push near-sur- from (a) to help you picture the 3-D nature of this system.
face cold air toward warmer air at both fronts. (2)
Circulation around the vortex tends to deform the
frontal boundaries and shrink the warm-air region
to a smaller wedge shape east and equatorward of
the low center. This wedge of warm air is called the
warm-air sector (Fig. 13.1). (3) Evaporating precipi-
428 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
B E
DPPM
-
BJS
-
XBSNBJS
XBSN DPPM
BJS BJS
B
B
Z
L1
L1
Y
1
Y
1
C F
DPPM
BJS
-
-
XBSN DPPM
DPPMBJS BJS BJS
B
XBSN
B
L1
Z BJS
L1
Z
1
1
Y Y
D DPPMBJS G
-
-
XBSNBJS
DPPM
BJS
L1
Z
B
Z
1
L1
Y
Y XBSNBJS
1
Figure 13.3
Extratropical cyclone evolution in the N. Hemisphere, including cyclogenesis (a - c), and cyclolysis (d - f). These idealized surface
weather maps move with the low center. Grey shading indicates clouds, solid black lines are isobars (kPa), thin arrows are near-surface
winds, L is at the low center, and medium grey lines in (a) bound the original frontal zone. Fig. 13.2a shows the initial conditions.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 429
Cyclone Tracks
Extratropical cyclones are steered by the global
circulation, including the prevailing westerlies at
mid-latitudes and the meandering Rossby-wave pat-
tern in the jet stream. Typical storm tracks (cyclone
paths) of low centers are shown in Fig. 13.5. Multi-
year climate variations (see the Climate chapter) in
Figure 13.5 (below)
Climatology of extratropical cyclone tracks (lines with arrows)
the global circulation, such as associated with the El
for (a) January and (b) July. Other symbols represent genesis Nio / La Nia cycle or the North Atlantic Oscilla-
and decay regions, as explained in the text. Circled symbols tion (NAO), can alter the cyclone tracks. Mid-lati-
indicate stationary cyclones. tude cyclones are generally stronger, translate faster,
/ B
+BOVBSZ
H-B/J
/ EVSJO B 0
( ( N
/" B
/J
/ N X X -B
EVSJOH m
/"0 X
X X
EVSJOH&M/JP X X &M/JP
/
4 5- X 5-
N 5-
N
4
N N
4 (
( LX ( LX LX ( LX (
LX
( LX (
4 LX
/ C
+VMZ
-
/ N
N
/ 5-
X 5-
/ 5- 5-
4
5- N
4 N
N
4 (
( LX ( LX LX ( LX (
LX
( LX (
4 LX
#B
chapter). Other cyclogenesis regions are over warm
GGJ
/
O
:5
*T
ocean boundary currents along the western edge -BCSBEPS
MB
OE
(VMGPG /6 4FB
of oceans (shown by the symbol w in the figure), "MBTLB /5
/
such as the Gulf Stream current off the east coast )VETPO
3PDLZ
#BZ /-
of N. America, and the Kuroshio Current off the /-
$BOBEB
.
east coast of Japan. During winter over such cur- #$
1BEJGJD0DFBO
"#
PVOUBJO
4, .# 1&2$
rents are strong sensible and latent heat fluxes from
0/ /#
8
1SBJSJFT /4
the warm ocean into the air, which adds energy to 8" .&
T
(S /FX&OHMBOE
developing cyclones. Also, the strong wintertime 03 .5 /% ./ FB
U- 75 /) ." /
BLF
3PDLZ
contrast between the cold continent and the warm /:
"UMBOUJD0DFBO
*% T 3*
4% 8*
1MBJOT
8: .* $5
ocean current causes an intense baroclinic zone that 1" /+
.
/7 *" .JEXFTU 0) %&
/&
drives a strong jet stream above it due to thermal-
PVOUBJO
$" 65 *- */ 87 7" .%
$0
USFBN
wind effects. ,4 .0 ,: %$
64" /$
Cyclones are often strengthened in regions un- 5/
(VMG4
"; 0, "3 4$
/
/.
der the jet stream just east of troughs. In such re- .4 "- ("
gions, the jet stream steers the low center toward the 59
-"
east and poleward. Hence, cyclone tracks are often '- #BIBNBT
toward the northeast in the N. Hemisphere, and to- .FYJDP (VMGPG
ward the southeast in the S. Hemisphere. .FYJDP
8
$VCB
8
Cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere typically
/
OPSUI
-PXIFJHIUTBU
LN
USPQPQBVTF
1
DPME
BJS
DP
IU
By definition, a low has lower central pressure than
IFJH the surroundings, because fewer air molecules are
%
XBSN flow will always move air molecules toward surface
BJS lows (Fig. 13.6). As a low fills with air, its pressure
rises and it stops being a low. Such filling is quick
1L1B enough to eliminate a low in less than a day, unless a
FM compensating process can remove air more quickly.
JTPCB TF BMFW Such a compensating process often occurs if the
STBU TPVUI
axis of low pressure tilts westward with increasing
XFTU FBTU
height (Fig. 13.7). Recall from the gradient-wind
MPDBUJPOPGMPX MPDBUJPOPGMPX
discussion in the Atmospheric Forces and Winds
BUUSPQPQBVTF BUTFBMFWFM
chapter that the jet stream is slower around troughs
than ridges. This change of wind speed causes di-
vergence aloft; namely, air is leaving faster than it is
C
7FSUJDBMDSPTTTFDUJPO 1L1B arriving. Thus, with the upper-level trough shifted
west of the surface low (L), the divergence region (D)
[ USPQPQBVTF is directly above the surface low, supporting cyclo-
USPVHI % SJEHF
genesis. Details are explained later in this Chapter.
But for now, you should recognize that a westward
tilt of the low-pressure location with increasing
[J height often accompanies cyclogenesis.
DPME XBSN
Conversely, when the trough aloft is stacked
XFTU FBTU vertically above the surface low, then the jet stream
Figure 13.7
(a) Two N. Hemisphere weather maps superimposed: (thin black lines) sea-level pressure, and (grey lines) 30 kPa heights. Jet-stream
winds (thick grey arrows) follow the height contours (b) East-west vertical cross section through middle of (a). Heavy dashed line is
trough axis. L indicates low center at surface, and D indicates divergence aloft. (Pressure and height variations are exaggerated.)
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 433
is not pumping air out of the low, and the low fills
due to the unrelenting boundary-layer flow. Thus,
vertical stacking is associated with cyclolysis.
BDFOEJOH
Other Characteristics XBSN
IVNJEBJS
Low centers often move parallel to the direction
of the isobars in the warm sector (Fig. 13.1). So even EFTDFOEJOH
without data on upper-air steering-level winds, you DPPM
ESZ -
BJS
can use a surface weather map to anticipate cyclone
movement.
Movement of air around a cyclone is three-di-
XBSN
mensional, and is difficult to show on two-dimen- B UJPO
N ODF BJS
sional weather maps. Fig. 13.8 shows the main GPS
EF JGGMVF DPOWFZPS Z
streams of air in one type of cyclone, corresponding E CFMU
to the snapshot of Fig. 13.3b. Sometimes air in the
warm-air conveyor belt is moving so fast that it Y
is called a low-altitude pre-frontal jet. When this Figure 13.8
humid stream of air is forced to rise over the cool- Ascending and descending air in a cyclone. Thin black lines
er air at the warm front (or over a mountain) it can with numbers are isobars (kPa). Thick black lines are fronts.
dump heavy precipitation and cause flooding.
Behind the cold front, cold air often descends
from the mid- or upper-troposphere, and sometimes
comes all the way from the lower stratosphere. This
dry air deforms (changes shape) into a diffluent
(horizontally spreading) flow near the cold front.
To show the widespread impact of a Spring mid-
latitude cyclone, a case-study is introduced next.
(1) 50 kPa Heights (m). Valid 00 UTC 3 Apr 2014 (2) 50 kPa Heights (m). Valid 12 UTC 4 Apr 2014
Figure 13.10a
Evolution of geopotential height contours (m) of the 50 kPa isobaric surface (known as 50 kPa heights) during a day and a half for the
case-study cyclone. Height contour interval is 60 m. X marks the surface-low location at the valid times of the two different maps.
The thick dashed line shows the axis of the low-pressure trough (i.e., the trough axis).
$PME'SPOU
L L
(1) Sea-level Pressure (kPa). Valid 00 UTC 3 Apr 2014 (2) Sea-level Pressure (kPa). Valid 12 UTC 3 Apr 2014
L
L
(3) Sea-level Pressure (kPa). Valid 00 UTC 4 Apr 2014 (4) Sea-level Pressure (kPa). Valid 12 UTC 4 Apr 2014
Figure 13.10b
Evolution of mean-sea-level (MSL) pressure (kPa) and surface fronts every 12 hours during a day and a half, from 00 UTC 3 April to
12 UTC 4 April 2014. Isobar contour interval is 0.4 kPa. L marks the location of the surface low-pressure center of the case-study
cyclone. The central pressure of the low every 12 hours in this sequence was: 99.4, 99.9, 100.0, and 99.7 kPa. Image (1) also shows a
dry line in Texas, and image (4) shows a squall line (of thunderstorms) in the southeast USA ahead of the cold front.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 435
Figure 13.11
Surface weather map,
valid 6 AM CDT
(12 UTC) on 4 April
2014. A higher reso-
lution surface weather
map for the same time
is on the last page of
this chapter as Fig.
13.56.
Figure 13.12.
Radar reflectivity, valid at
roughly 6 AM CDT (12
UTC) on 4 April 2014.
Left: Overview map from
the US Univ. Corp. for
Atmos. Research (UCAR),
based on US government
radar data. Right: Com-
posite of zoomed maps
from the US Storm Pre-
diction Center.
436 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
Figure c Thickness
A set of weather maps for different altitudes helps you gain Now picture two different isobaric surfaces over
a 3-D perspective of the weather. MSL = mean sea level. the same region, such as sketched a the top of Fig. c.
An example is 100 kPa heights and 50 kPa heights.
At each location on the map, you could measure the
height difference between these two pressure surfac-
Height es, which tells you the thickness of air in that layer.
Mean-sea-level (MSL) maps represent a uniform
After drawing isopleths connecting points of equal
height of z = 0 relative to the ocean surface. For most
thickness, the resulting contour map is known as a
land areas that are above sea level, these maps are cre-
100 to 50 kPa thickness map.
ated by extrapolating atmospheric conditions below
You learned in the General Circulation chapter
ground. (A few land-surface locations are below sea
that the thermal-wind vectors are parallel to thick-
level, such as Death Valley and the Salton Sea USA, or
ness contours, and that these vectors indicate shear in
the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan).
the geostrophic wind. That chapter also showed that
Meteorologists commonly plot air pressure (re-
the 100-50 kPa thickness is proportional to average
duced to sea level) and fronts on this uniform-height
temperature in the bottom half of the troposphere.
surface. These are called MSL pressure maps.
(continues on next page)
(continues in next column)
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 437
LN
[
LN
LN
LN
[
OPSUI
[
LN
LN
LN
LN
[
Surface
LN
[
LN
FBTU
Rules
Figure d It is impossible to have two different pressures,
Lines of uniform potential temperature (thin black lines) or two different potential temperatures, at the same
are sketched in the background of the 3-D diagram at top. point in space at any instant. For this reason, isobaric
Each line has a corresponding isentropic surface that goes surfaces cannot cross other isobaric surfaces (e.g., the
through it, such as sketched for = 310 K in both figures 70 kPa and 60 kPa isobaric surfaces cannot intersect).
(shaded in blue). The heights (z) of this surface above MSL Similar rules apply for isentropic surfaces. But iso-
are plotted as contour lines in the isentropic chart at bot- baric surfaces can cross isentropes, and they both can
tom. The thick grey arrow represents a hypothetical wind intersect the ground surface.
vector.
(continues in next column)
438 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
X X
20 kPa Heights (m). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 20 kPa Wind Vectors. Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
X X
50 kPa Heights (m). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 50 kPa Wind Vectors. Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
X X
85 kPa Heights (m). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 85 kPa Wind Vectors. Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
L L
100 kPa Heights (m). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 10 m Wind Vectors. Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
Figure 13.13. Geopotential heights (left column) and wind vectors (right). Maps higher on the page are for higher in the atmos.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 439
X X
20 kPa Temperature (C). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 20 kPa Isotachs (m s1). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
X X
50 kPa Temperature (C). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 50 kPa Abs.Vorticity (10 5 s1). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
X X
85 kPa Temperature (C). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 85 kPa Abs. Vorticity (10 5 s1). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
A
L L
2 m Equiv.. Pot. Temperature (K) at 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 2 m Mixing Ratio (g kg1). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
Figure 13.14. Temperature (left column) and other variables (right). L and X indicate location of the surface low center.
440 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
X X
20 kPa Streamlines. Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 20 kPa Divergence (10 5 s1). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
X X
70 kPa Heights (m). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 70 kPa Temperature (C). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
L
L
Precipitable water (mm). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 MSL P (kPa), 85 kPa T (C) & 1 h Precip.(in) at 13 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
Figure 13.15. Maps higher on the page are for higher in the atmosphere. L and X indicate location of surface low-pressure cen-
ter.
Figure 13.16.
Thickness (m) between the
100 kPa and 50 kPa isobaric
surfaces.
100 - 50 kPa Thickness. Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 441
[ LN
(a)
R, 4USBUPTQIFSF
5SPQPQBVTF
5SPQPTQIFSF
6
5
'
S
PO
U
$P
ME
'
X
SP
OU
R,
" OPSUI TPVUI "h
XFTU LN
FBTU
(b)
Fig. 13.17
Tropopause pressure (hPa), valid 4 Apr 2014 from NCEP opera-
tional analysis. X indicates surface-low location. Thanks to
NOAA Earth System Research Lab. [ 100 hPa = 10 kPa. ]
A
X
Fig. 13.18 (below)
Hemispheric plot of 20 kPa height contours (unit interpretation:
1220 = 12.2 km), valid 4 Apr 2014 from NCEP operational A
analysis. The North Pole is at the center of the map. Thanks to
NOAA Earth System
Research Lab.
Weather-map Discussion for this Case kPa Absolute Vorticity chart shows a bulls-eye
As recommended for most weather discussions, of positive vorticity just west of the surface low.
start with the big picture, and progress toward the
details. Also, start from the top down. 70 kPa Charts (z 3 km MSL)
The second row of charts in Fig. 13.15 shows a
Hemispheric Map - Top of Troposphere closed low on the 70 kPa Height chart, just west
Starting with the planetary scale, Fig. 13.18 shows of the surface low. At this altitude the warm air
Hemispheric 20 kPa Geopotential Height advection poleward and cold-air advection equator-
Contours. It shows five long Rossby-wave troughs ward are even more obvious east and west of the low,
around the globe. The broad trough over N. Amer- respectively, as shown on the 70 kPa Temperature
ica also has two short-wave troughs superimposed chart.
one along the west coast and the other in the
middle of N. America. The jet stream flows from 85 kPa Charts (z 1.4 km MSL)
west to east along the height contours plotted in this Focus on the third row of charts in Figs. 13.13
diagram, with faster winds where the contours are - 13.14. The 85 kPa Height chart shows a deep
packed closer together. closed low immediately to the west of the surface
Next, zoom to the synoptic scale over N. Ameri- low. Associated with this system is a complete coun-
ca. This is discussed in the next several subsections terclockwise circulation of winds around the low, as
using Figs. 13.13 - 13.15. shown in the 85 kPa Wind Vector chart.
The strong temperature advection east and west
20 kPa Charts Top of Troposphere (z of the low center are creating denser packing of iso-
11.5 km MSL) therms along the frontal zones, as shown in the 85
Focus on the top row of charts in Figs. 13.13 - kPa Temperature chart. The cyclonically rotating
13.15. The thick dashed lines on the 20 kPa Height flow causes a large magnitude of vorticity in the 85
contour map show the two short-wave trough axes. kPa Absolute Vorticity chart.
The trough over the central USA is the one associat-
ed with the case-study cyclone. This trough is west 100 kPa and other Near-Surface Charts
of the location of the surface low-pressure center Focus on the last row of charts in Figs. 13.13-13.14.
(X). The 20 kPa Wind Vector map shows gen- The approximate surface-frontal locations have also
erally westerly winds aloft, switching to southwest- been drawn on most of these charts. The 100 kPa
erly over most of the eastern third of the USA. Wind Height chart shows the surface low that is deep
speeds in the 20 kPa Isotach chart show two jet relative to the higher pressures surrounding it. The
streaks (shaded in yellow) one with max winds 10 m Wind Vectors chart shows sharp wind shifts
greater than 70 m s1 in Texas and northern Mexico, across the frontal zones.
and a weaker jet streak over the Great Lakes. Isentropes of 2 m Equivalent Potential Tem-
The 20 kPa Temperature chart shows a bulls- perature clearly demark the cold and warm frontal
eye of relatively warm air (50C) aloft just west zones with tightly packed (closely spaced) isentropes.
of the X. This is associated with an intrusion of Recall that fronts on weather maps are drawn on the
stratospheric air down into the troposphere (Fig. warm sides of the frontal zones. Southeast of the
13.19). The 20 kPa Divergence map shows strong low center is a humid warm sector with strong
horizontal divergence (plotted with the blue contour moisture gradients across the warm and cold fronts
lines) along and just east of the surface cold front as is apparent by the tight isohume packing in the 2
and low center. m Water Vapor Mixing Ratio chart.
Next, focus on row 3 of Fig. 13.15. The high hu-
50 kPa Charts Middle of Troposphere (z midities also cause large values of Precipitable
5.5 km MSL) water (moisture summed over the whole depth
Focus on the second row of charts in Figs. 13.13 of the atmosphere), particularly along the frontal
- 13.14. The 50 kPa Height chart shows a trough zones. So it is no surprise to see the rain showers in
axis closer to the surface-low center (X). This low- the MSL Pressure, 85 kPa Temperature and 1-h
pressure region has almost become a closed low, Precipitation chart.
where the height contours form closed ovals. 50 kPa
Wind Vectors show the predominantly westerly 100 to 50 kPa Thickness
winds turning in such a way as to bring colder air Fig. 13.16 shows the vertical distance between the
equatorward on the west side of the low, and bring- 100 and 50 kPa isobaric surfaces. Namely, it shows
ing warmer air poleward on the east side of the low the thickness of the 100 to 50 kPa layer of air. This
(shown in the 50 kPa Temperature chart). The 50 thickness is proportional to the average temperature
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 443
B
[ Stationary Rossby Waves
Consider a wind that causes air in the troposphere
LN USPQPQBVTF to blow over the Rocky mountains (Fig. 13.20). Con-
vective clouds (e.g., thunderstorms) and turbulence
[5B [5C [5D can cause the Rossby wave amplitude to decrease
8JOE 8JOE further east, so the first wave after the mountain (at
location c in Fig. 13.20) is the one you should focus
[NUO on.
LN These Rossby waves have a dominant wave-
3PDLZ.UOT length () of roughly
B C D Y
1/2
M (13.1)
2
C
Z M
where the mean wind speed is M. As you have seen
OPSUI 8JOE SJEHF SJEHF in an earlier chapter, is the northward gradient of
"
the Coriolis parameter (fc):
OE
XJ
3C
3D
USPVHI fc 2
= = cos (13.2)
3PDLZ MFF y Rearth
TPVUI .UOT USPVHI
XFTU B C D FBTU Y Factor 2 = 1.458x10 4 s1 is twice the angular rota-
tion rate of the Earth. At North-American latitudes,
Figure 13.20
is roughly 1.5 to 2x10 11 m1 s1.
Cyclogenesis to the lee of the mountains. (a) Vertical cross sec-
tion. (b) Map of jet-stream flow. Ridge and trough refer to Knowing the mountain-range height (zmtn) rela-
the wind-flow pattern, not the topography. tive to the surrounding plains, and knowing the ini-
tial depth of the troposphere (zT), the Rossby-wave
amplitude A is:
Sample Application fc zmtn
What amplitude & wavelength of terrain-triggered A (13.3)
zT
Rossby wave would you expect for a mountain range
at 48N that is 1.2 km high? The upstream depth of the
troposphere is 11 km, with upstream wind is 19 m s1. Because is related to fc, we can analytically find
their ratio as fc/ = REarthtan(), where the average
Find the Answer radius (REarth) of the Earth is 6371 km. Over North
Given: = 48N, zmtn = 1.2 km, zT = 11 km, America the tangent of the latitude is tan() 1.
M = 19 m s1. Thus:
Find: A = ? km , = ? km z
A mtn Rearth
zT (13.4)
Use eq. (13.4):
A = [ (1.2 km) / (11 km) ] (6371 km) = 695 km
where 2A is the y distance between the wave trough
Next, use eq. (13.2) to find at 48N: and crest.
= (2.294x10 11 m1s1) cos(48) = 1.53x10 11 m1s1 In summary, the equations above show that
north-south Rossby-wave amplitude depends on
Finally, use eq. (13.1): the height of the mountains, but does not depend on
1/2 wind speed. Conversely, wind speed is important
19m s 1
2 11 1 1
= 6990 km in determining Rossby wavelength, while mountain
1.53 10 m s
height is irrelevant.
Check: Physics and units are reasonable.
Exposition: Is this wave truly a planetary wave? Potential-vorticity Conservation
Yes, because its wavelength (6,990 km) would fit 3.8 Use conservation of potential vorticity as a tool
times around the Earth at 48N (circumference = to understand such mountain lee-side Rossby-wave
2REarthcos(48) = 26,785 km). Also, the north-south triggering (Fig. 13.20). Create a toy model by as-
meander of the wave spans 2A = 12.5 of latitude. suming wind speed is constant in the Rossby wave,
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 445
( M / R) + f c
p = = constant (13.5)
z
For this toy model, consider the initial winds to be Sample Application
Picture a scenario as plotted in Fig. 13.20, with 25 m
blowing straight toward the Rocky Mountains from
s1 wind at location a, mountain height of 1.2 km, tro-
the west. These initial winds have no curvature at posphere thickness of 11 km, and latitude 45N. What
location a, thus R = and eq. (13.5) becomes: is the value of the initial potential vorticity, and what
is the radius of curvature at point b?
fc. a (13.6)
p =
zT .a Find the Answer
Given: M = 25 m s1, zmtn = 1.2 km, Rinitial = ,
where zT.a is the average depth of troposphere at zT = 11 km, = 45N.
point a. Because potential vorticity is conserved, Find: p.a = ? m1s1, Rb = ? km
we can use this fixed value of p to see how the Ross-
by wave is generated. Assumption: Neglect wind shear in the vorticity cal-
Let zmtn be the relative mountain height above culation.
the surrounding land (Fig. 13.20a). As the air blows
Eq. (10.16) can be applied to get the Coriolis parameter
over the mountain range, the troposphere becomes fc = (1.458x10 4 s1)sin(45) = 1.031x10 4 s1
thinner as it is squeezed between mountain top and
the tropopause at location b: zT.b = zT.a zmtn. Use eq. (13.6):
But the latitude of the air hasnt changed much yet,
so fc.b fc.a. Because z has changed, we can solve 1.031 10 4 s 1
p = = 9.37x10 9 m1 s1
eq. (13.5) for the radius of curvature needed to main- 11km
tain p.b = p.a.
Next, apply eq. (13.7) to get the radius of curvature:
M (25m/s)
Rb = Rb = = 2223. km
fc.a ( zmtn / zT .a ) (13.7)
(1.031 10 4 s 1 )(1.2 km / 11km)
USPQPQBVTF
Spin-up of Cyclonic Rotation
VQXBSE
NPUJPO Cyclogenesis is associated with upward motion,
SPUBUJPO
decreasing surface pressure, and increasing vorticity
WPSUJDJUZ
- EFDSFBTJOH
TVSGBDFQSFTTVSF [
with vorticity.
The equation that forecasts change of vorticity
with time is called the vorticity tendency equa-
TVSGBDF Z
tion. We can investigate the processes that cause cy-
Y
clogenesis (spin up; positive-vorticity increase) and
Figure 13.22
cyclolysis (spin down; positive-vorticity decrease)
Attributes of cyclogenesis. Updrafts remove air molecules from
near the ground, which lowers surface pressure. The pressure
by examining terms in the vorticity tendency equa-
gradient drives winds, which rotate due to Coriolis force. tion. Mountains are not needed for these processes.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 447
U W V W W W W M
+ +r CD r C
%JWFSHFODF
z y z x x y z zi
PS4USFUDIJOH MBSHF8
_tilting_(A)_______(B)________(C)_ stretching turbulent
of rel. vort. drag
[ DPOWFSHFODF
GDPS[S
Positive vorticity tendency indicates cyclogenesis. 8[
Vorticity Advection: If the wind blows air of
greater vorticity into your region of interest, then TNBMM8
this is called positive vorticity advection (PVA).
Negative vorticity advection (NVA) is when
lower-vorticity air is blown into a region. These ad-
vections can be caused by vertical winds and hori-
zontal winds (Fig. 13.23a). D
#FUB&GGFDU
TNBMM[S
Stretching: Consider a short column of air that is Z
spinning as a vortex tube. Horizontal convergence IJHIMBUJUVEF
MBSHFGD
of air toward this tube will cause the tube to become GDZ
7m
taller and more slender (smaller diameter). The tall-
er or stretched vortex tube supports cyclogenesis MPXMBUJUVEF
TNBMMGD
(Fig. 13.23b). Conversely, horizontal divergence MBSHF[S
shortens the vortex tube and supports cyclolysis
or anticyclogenesis. In the first and second lines of
eq. (13.9) are the stretching terms for Earths rota-
tion and relative vorticity, respectively. Stretching E
5JMUJOH
means that the top of the vortex tube moves upward MBSHF8
away from (or moves faster than) the movement of
the bottom of the vortex tube; hence W/z is posi- 8Z
tive for stretching.
MBSHF6
Beta Effect: Recall from eq. (11.35) in the Gener- TNBMM8
al Circulation chapter that we can define = fc/y.
Beta is positive in the N. Hemisphere because the
6[
Coriolis parameter increases toward the north pole [ TNBMM6
(see eq. 13.2). If wind moves air southward (i.e.,
V = negative) to where fc is smaller, then relative
Z
vorticity r becomes larger (as indicated by the nega- Y
tive sign in front of the beta term) to conserve poten-
tial vorticity (Fig. 13.23c).
Tilting Terms: (A & B in eq. 13.9) If the hori-
zontal winds change with altitude, then this shear F
5VSCVMFOU%SBH
causes vorticity along a horizontal axis. (C in eq. [ [S
13.9) Neighboring up- and down-drafts give hori-
[J
zontal shear of the vertical wind, causing vorticity
along a horizontal axis. (A-C) If a resulting horizon- .
tal vortex tube experiences stronger vertical velocity %SBHGPSDFPQQPTFT
on one end relative to the other (Fig. 13.23d), then the
UIFSPUBUJPO
tube will tilt to become more vertical. Because spin-
ning about a vertical axis is how we define vorticity, Figure 13.23
we have increased vorticity via the tilting of initially Illustration of processes that affect vertical vorticity (see eq.
horizontal vorticity. 13.9). An additional drag process is shown in the next column.
448 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
G
5VSCVMFOU%SBH QBSU
Quasi-Geostrophic Approximation
Above the boundary layer (and away from fronts,
jets, and thunderstorms) the terms in the second line C
of the vorticity equation are smaller than those in
the first line, and can be neglected. Also, for syn- X
optic scale, extratropical weather systems, the winds
C D
are almost geostrophic (quasi-geostrophic).
These weather phenomena are simpler to ana- D
lyze than thunderstorms and hurricanes, and can be
well approximated by a set of equations (quasi-geo-
strophic vorticity and omega equations) that are less
complicated than the full set of primitive equa-
tions of motion (Newtons second law, the first law 85 kPa Divergence (10 6 s1). Valid 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014
of thermodynamics, continuity, and ideal gas law).
As a result of the simplifications above, the Figure 13.26
Horizontal divergence (D = U/x + V/y) for the case-study
vorticity forecast equation simplifies to the follow-
storm. C = horizontal convergence (= D).
ing quasi-geostrophic vorticity equation:
(13.10)
g g g fc W
= U g Vg Vg + fc Sample Application
t x y y z Suppose an initial flow field has no geostrophic
spin-up horizontal advection beta stretching relative vorticity, but there is a straight north to south
geostrophic wind blowing at 10 m s1 at latitude 45.
where the relative geostrophic vorticity g is defined Also, the top of a 1 km thick column of air rises at 0.01
similar to the relative vorticity of eq. (11.20), except m s1, while its base rises at 0.008 m s1. Find the rate
using geostrophic winds Ug and Vg: of geostrophic-vorticity spin-up.
curvature. Namely, the JTPC Air is departing faster than entering. This imbal-
BSJ DF
Laplacian of |g|z is positive, DTVSGB ance (divergence) draws air up from below. Hence,
hence, g is positive. Thus, a Y
W increases from near zero at the ground to some
low has positive vorticity. Figure f. positive updraft speed at 50 kPa. This stretching
helps to spin-up the cyclone.
The beta term, however, contributes to spin-
OPSUI down because air from lower latitudes (with smaller
Coriolis parameter) is blowing toward the location
UZ of the surface cyclone. This effect is small when the
J
WPSUJD
M
SJEHF
LN
of the cyclone.
IUT POJD In real cyclones, contours are often more closely
JH ZDM S
ET IF spaced in troughs, causing relative maxima in jet
BOUJD
XJO
FM UJDJU
Ascent
Wmid = D z (13.15)
or
U V (13.16)
20 kPa Heights (m) & Isotachs (m s1) 12 UTC, 4 Apr 2014 Wmid = + z
x y
Figure 13.30 or
Over the surface cyclone (X) is a region (box) with faster jet-
M
stream outflow than inflow (arrows). Isotachs are shaded. Wmid = z (13.17)
s
Sample Application where the distance between outflow and inflow lo-
Jet-stream inflow winds are 50 m s1, while out- cations is s, wind speed is M, the thickness of the
flow winds are 75 m s1 a distance of 1000 km further upper air layer is z, and the ascent speed at 50 kPa
downstream. What updraft is induced below this 5 (mid tropospheric) is Wmid.
km thick divergence region? Assume air density is 0.5 Fig. 13.30 shows this scenario for the case-study
kg m3.
storm. Geostrophic winds are often nearly parallel
to the height contours (solid black curvy lines in Fig.
Find the Answer
Given: Min = 50 m s1, Mout = 75 m s1, s = 1000 km,
13.30). Thus, for the region outlined with the black/
z = 5 km. white box drawn parallel to the contour lines, the
Find: Wmid = ? m s1 main inflow and outflow are at the ends of the box
(arrows). The isotachs (shaded) tell us that the in-
Use eq. (13.17): flow ( 20 m s1) is slower than outflow (50 m s1).
Wmid = [Mout - Min](z/s)
= [75 - 50 m s1][(5km)/(1000km)] = 0.125 m s1 We will focus on two processes that cause hori-
zontal divergence of the jet stream:
Check: Units OK. Physics unreasonable, because the Rossby waves, a planetary-scale feature for which
incompressible continuity equation assumes constant the jet stream is approximately geostrophic; and
density a bad assumption over a 5 km thick layer. jet streaks, where jet-stream accelerations cause
Exposition: Although this seems like a small num- non-geostrophic (ageostrophic) motions.
ber, over an hour this updraft velocity would lift air
about 450 m. Given enough hours, the rising air might
reach its lifting condensation level, thereby creating a
cloud or enabling a thunderstorm.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 453
Rossby Waves
From the Forces and Winds chapter, recall that USPQPQBVTF
the gradient wind is faster around ridges than BN
E 4USF
T
+FU
YJ
"
troughs, for any fixed latitude and horizontal pres-
T
I
YJ
H
"
V
SP
F
sure gradient. Since Rossby waves consist of a train
H
5
JE
3
of ridges and troughs in the jet stream, you can an- [ 8
T
ticipate that along the jet-stream path the winds are
YJ
- )
"
T
I
YJ
increasing and decreasing in speed.
"
V
SP
F
[
H
5
One such location is east of troughs, as sketched
JE
M
3
Z
in Fig. 13.31. Consider a hypothetical box of air at the TVSGBDF Y
jet stream level between the trough and ridge. Hori-
zontal wind speed entering the box is slow around Figure 13.31
the trough, while exiting winds are fast around the Sketch showing how the slower jet-stream winds at the trough
ridge. To maintain mass continuity, this horizontal (thin lines with arrows) are enhanced by vertical velocity (W,
divergence induces ascent into the bottom of the dotted lines) to achieve the mass balance needed to support the
hypothetical box. This ascent is removing air mol- faster winds (thick lines with arrows) at the ridge. (N. Hem.)
ecules below the hypothetical box, creating a region
of low surface pressure. Hence, surface lows (extra-
tropical cyclones) form east of jet-stream troughs.
Sample Application
We can create a toy model of this effect. Sup- Suppose a jet stream meanders in a sine wave pat-
pose the jet stream path looks like a sine wave of tern that has a 150 km north-south amplitude, 3000
wavelength and amplitude y/2. Assume that the km wavelength, 3 km depth, and 35 m s1 mean geo-
streamwise length of the hypothetical box equals strophic velocity. The latitude is such that fc = 0.0001
the diagonal distance between the trough and ridge s1 . Estimate the ascent speed under the jet.
1/2
s = d = ( / 2)2 + y 2 (13.18) Find the Answer
Given: y = 2 (150 km) = 300 km, = 3000 km,
Knowing the decrease/increase relative to the geo- z = 3 km, G = 35 m s1, fc = 0.0001 s1
strophic wind speed G of the actual gradient wind M Find: Wmid = ? m s1
around troughs/ridges (from the Forces and Winds
Apply eq. (13.20):
chapter), you can estimate the jet-stream wind-speed
increase as: 1 (3000km)2 = 1520 km
R=
(13.19) 2 2 (300km)
4G 4G
M = 0.5 fc R 2 1 1+ Simplify eq. (13.19) by using the curvature Rossby
f c R f c R
number from the Forces and Winds chapter:
For a simple sine wave, the radius-of-curvature R of G 35m/s
the jet stream around the troughs and ridges is: = Roc = 1 = 0.23
fc R (0.0001s )(1.52 106 m)
1 2
R= 2
(13.20)
2 y Next, use eq. (13.19), but with Roc:
35m/s
M = 2 1 4(0.23) 1 + 4(0.23)
Combining these equations with eq. (13.17) gives 2(0.23)
a toy-model estimate of the vertical motion: = 76.1(m/s)[2 0.283 1.386] = 25.2 m s1
(13.21)
Apply eq. (13.18):
fc z 2 8 2G y 8 2G y d = [ (1500km)2 + (300km)2 ]1/2 = 1530 km
2 1 1 +
4 2 y fc 2 fc 2
Wmid = Finally, use eq. (13.17):
[( / 2)2 + y 2 ]1/2
25.2 m/s = 0.049 m s1
Wmid = 3km
1530km
For our case-study cyclone, Fig. 13.30 shows a
short-wave trough with jet-stream speed increasing Check: Physics, units, & magnitudes are reasonable.
from 20 to 50 m/s across a distance of about 1150 km. Exposition: This ascent speed is 5 cm s1, which
seems slow. But when applied under the large area of
This upper-level divergence supported cyclogenesis
the jet stream trough-to-ridge region, a large amount
of the surface low over Wisconsin (X on the map). of air mass is moved by this updraft.
454 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
B
Jet Streaks
; - The jet stream does not maintain constant speed
LN in the jet core (center region with maximum speeds).
% Instead, it accelerates and decelerates as it blows
around the world in response to changes in horizon-
tal pressure gradient and direction. The fast-wind
D regions in the jet core are called jet streaks. The
$
response of the wind to these speed changes is not
instantaneous, because the air has inertia.
E Suppose the wind in a weak-pressure-gradient
region had reached its equilibrium wind speed as
Z
given by the geostrophic wind. As this air coasts
Y LN ) into a region of stronger pressure gradient (i.e.,
tighter packing of the isobars or height contours), it
finds itself slower than the new, faster geostrophic
C
wind speed. Namely, it is ageostrophic (not geo-
; - MFGUFYJU
RVBESBOU
strophic) for a short time while it accelerates toward
LN the faster geostrophic wind speed.
MFGUFOUSBODF % ( BH When the air parcel is too slow, its Coriolis force
RVBESBOU (which is proportional to its wind speed) is smaller
$ than the new larger pressure gradient force. This
BH D temporary imbalance turns the air at a small angle
SJHIUFYJU toward lower pressure (or lower heights). This is
( RVBESBOU what happens as air flows into a jet streak.
E The opposite happens as air exits a jet streak and
SJHIUFOUSBODF flows into a region of weaker pressure gradient. The
Z
RVBESBOU wind is temporarily too fast because of its inertia,
Y LN ) so the Coriolis force (larger than pressure-gradient
force) turns the wind at a small angle toward higher
pressure.
Figure 13.32 For northern hemisphere jet streams, the wind
Horizontal divergence (D = strong, d = weak) and convergence
vectors point slightly left of geostrophic while ac-
(C = strong, c = weak) near a jet streak. Back arrows represent
winds, green shading indicates isotachs (with the fastest winds
celerating, and slightly right while decelerating. Be-
having the darkest green), thin curved black lines are height cause the air in different parts of the jet streak have
contours of the 20 kPa isobaric surface, L & H indicate low & different wind speeds and pressure gradients, they
high height centers. Geostrophic (G) winds are parallel to the deviate from geostrophic by different amounts (Fig.
isobars, while (ag) indicates the ageostrophic wind component. 13.32a). As a result, some of the wind vectors con-
Tan dashed lines parallel and perpendicular to the jet axis divide verge in speed and/or direction to make horizontal
the jet streak into quadrants. convergence regions. At other locations the winds
cause divergence. The jet-stream divergence regions
drive cyclogenesis near the Earths surface.
Sample Application For an idealized west-to-east, steady-state jet
A west wind of 60 m s1 in the center of a jet streak stream with no curvature, the U-wind forecast equa-
decreases to 40 m s1 in the jet exit region 500 km to the tion (10.51a) from the Atmospheric Forces and Wind
east. Find the exit ageostrophic wind component. chapter reduces to:
Check: Physics and units are reasonable. Sign OK. Plugging these into eq. (13.22) gives for a jet
Exposition: Negative sign means Vag is north wind. stream from the west:
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 455
Sample Application
Wmid
2 z
MTH
(
g + ( f c / 2) )
(13.29)
The 100 to 50 kPa thickness is 5 km and fc = 10 4 s1.
A west to east thermal wind of 20 m s1 blows through
fc s a region where avg. cyclonic vorticity decreases by
10 4 s1 toward the east across a distance of 500 km.
Use the omega eq. to find mid-tropospheric upward
where s is distance along the thermal wind direc- speed.
tion, and MTH is the thermal-wind speed.
Regardless of the form, the terms in square brack- Find the Answer
ets represent the advection of vorticity by the ther- Given: UTH = 20 m s1, V TH = 0, z = 5 km,
mal wind, where vorticity consists of the geostroph- = 10 4 s1 , x = 500 km, fc = 10 4 s1.
ic relative vorticity plus a part of the vorticity due to Find: Wmid = ? m s1
the Earths rotation. The geostrophic vorticity at the
Use eq. (13.28):
85 kPa or the 70 kPa isobaric surface is often used to
approximate the average geostrophic vorticity over 2 (5000m) ( 10 4 s 1 )
Wmid (20m/s) + 0 + 0 = 0.4 m
the whole 100 to 50 kPa layer. (10 4 s 1 ) (5 105 m)
s1
A physical interpretation of the omega equation
is that greater upward velocity occurs where there is Check: Units OK. Physics OK.
greater advection of cyclonic (positive) geostrophic Exposition: At this speed, an air parcel would take
vorticity by the thermal wind. Greater upward ve- 7.6 h to travel from the ground to the tropopause.
locity favors clouds and heavier precipitation. Also,
[
by moving air upward from the surface, it reduces OPSUI
the pressure under it, causing the surface low to LN
move toward that location and deepen. B
Weather maps can be used to determine the loca-
tion and magnitude of the maximum upward mo-
tion. The idealized map of Fig. 13.36a shows the
height (z) contours of the 50 kPa isobaric surface, -
of air between the 100 and 50 kPa isobaric surfaces. DPME
Thickness lines are often nearly parallel to surface
fronts, with the tightest packing on the cold side
of the fronts. Recall that thermal wind is parallel -
to the thickness lines, with cold air to the left, and
with the greatest velocity where the thickness lines
are most tightly packed. Thermal wind direction is
represented by the arrows in Fig. 13.36b, with longer
arrows denoting stronger speed. XBSN
Advection is greatest where the area between FBTU
crossing isopleths is smallest (the INFO Box on the
next page explains why). This rule also works for Figure 13.36
(a) Weather at three different pressure heights: (1) 50 kPa heights
advection by the thermal wind. The dotted lines
(solid lines) and trough axis (thick dashed line); (2) surface low
represent the isopleths that drive the thermal wind.
pressure center (L) and fronts; (3) 70 kPa vorticity (shaded).
In Fig. 13.36 the thin black lines around the shaded (b) Trough axis, surface low and fronts, and vorticity shading are
areas are isopleths of vorticity. The solenoid at the identical to Fig. (a). Added are: 100 to 50 kPa thickness (dotted
smallest area between these crossing isopleths indi- lines), thermal wind vectors (arrows), and region of maximum
cates the greatest vorticity advection by the thermal positive vorticity advection by the thermal wind (rectangular
wind, and is outlined by a rectangular box. For this box). It is within this box that the omega equation gives the
greatest updraft speed, which support cyclogenesis.
458 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
5$
Upon integrating over pressure from p = 100 to 50
kPa:
2
p
= (
V TH p g + ( fc / 2)
fo
)
where the definition of thermal wind V TH is used, 1
along with the mean value theorem for the last term.
The hydrostatic eq. is used to convert the LHS: L1B
/ p = W / z . The whole eq. is then integrated
over height, with W = Wmid at z = z (= 100 - 50 kPa
thickness) and W = 0 at z = 0.
This gives Wmid =
TPVUI
2 z
UTH
(
g + ( f c / 2) )
+ VTH
(
g + ( f c / 2) )
fc x y XFTU FBTU
Fig. h. Solid lines are isobars. Grey dashed lines are iso-
But fc varies with y, not x. The result is eq. (13.28). therms. Greatest temperature advection is at shaded tile.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 459
"UMBOUJD
0DFBO
particular example, the greatest updraft would be
expected within this box. 1BDJGJD 5IJDL
0DFBO .FYJDP (VMGPG.FYJDP XBSN
st roph ic
scale regions of updraft and the associated cyclogen-
wind by LN
[ - [
esis, cloudiness and precipitation. However, in the $PME
the geo-
derivation of the omega equation (which we did not LN
st roph ic
cover in this book), we neglected components that w i n d
describe the role of ageostrophic motions in helping seems to 9 +FU
to maintain geostrophic balance. The INFO box on undo geo-
the Geostrophic Paradox describes the difficulties st roph ic
of maintaining geostrophic balance in some situa- balance at 8BSN
tions motivation for Hoskins Q-vector approach X.
described next. Z )
Y
B
/PSUI C
Q-Vectors
2Z 2WFDUPS Q-vectors allow an alternative method for di-
$ $ $
agnosing vertical velocity that does not neglect as
many terms.
2Y % % %
Defining Q-vectors
8FTU
&BTU
$
Vg is the magnitude of the geostrophic difference
vector from the previous paragraph. Thus, greater Z
5
changes of geostrophic wind in stronger baroclinic Y
zones have larger Q-vectors. Furthermore, Q-vector
magnitude increases with the decreasing pressure P
PM
$
7H
found at increasing altitude.
FO
E
Using Q-vectors / Forecasting Tips
Different locations usually have different Q-vec-
T
N
tors, as sketched in Fig. 13.40 for a 1994 event. In-
BS
8
terpret Q-vectors on a synoptic weather map as fol-
lows: 7H
TU
(Fig. 13.41 gives an example for the 1994 event).
BS
U
Subsidence (downward motion) occurs where Q- 7HTUBSU
7HFOE
vectors diverge.
Frontogenesis occurs where Q-vectors cross
isentropes (lines of constant potential tempera- Z
2WFDUPS
ture) from cold toward warm. Y
Updrafts in the TROWAL region ahead of a warm
occluded front occur during cyclolysis where the Figure 13.39
along-isentrope component of Q-vectors con- Illustration of natural coordinates for Q-vectors. Dashed grey
verge. lines are isotherms. Aircraft flies along the isotherms with cold
air to its left. Black arrows are geostrophic wind vectors. Grey
Using the tricks for visually recognizing patterns arrow indicates Q-vector direction (but not magnitude).
of vectors on weather maps (Fig. 13.38b), you can iden-
tify by eye regions of convergence and divergence
in Fig. 13.40. Or you can let the computer analyze
the Q-vectors directly to plot Q-vector convergence
and divergence (Fig. 13.41). Although Figs. 13.40 and
13.41 are analysis maps of current weather, you can
instead look at Q-vector forecast maps as produced
automatically by numerical weather prediction
models (see the NWP chapter) to help you forecast
regions of updraft, clouds, and precipitation.
Remember that Q-vector convergence indicates
regions of likely synoptic-scale upward motion and
associated clouds and precipitation. Looking at Fig.
13.41, see a moderate convergence region running
from the western Gulf of Mexico up through eastern
Louisiana and southern Mississippi. It continues
as a weak convergence region across Alabama and
Georgia, and then becomes a strong convergence
region over West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.
A moderate convergence region extend northwest
toward Wisconsin.
This interpretation agrees with the general loca-
tions of radar echoes of precipitation for this 1994
event. Note that the frontal locations need not cor-
respond to the precipitation regions. This demon- 65$
strates the utility of Q-vectors even when the up- 'FC
drafts and precipitation are not exactly along a front, L1B2WFDUPST TDBMFYmNpTmpLHm
you can use Q-vectors to anticipate the bad-weather
regions. Figure 13.40 (Not the 2014 case study.)
Weather map of Q-vectors. (o means small magnitude.)
462 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
Fall
Tendency of Sea-level Pressure
Mass Budget
Because sea-level pressure depends on the weight
of all the air molecules above it, a falling surface
pressure must correspond to a removal of air mol-
ecules from the air column above the surface. An
accounting of the total number of molecules in an
air column is called a mass budget.
Imagine a column of air over 1 m2 of the Earths B
C
PVU PVU
surface, as sketched in Fig. 13.43a. Suppose there is a
weightless leaf (grey rectangle in that figure) that can SDPOTU So
move up and down with velocity Wmid in response
to movement of air molecules in the column. Pick 8 NJE m 8 NJE m
two arbitrary heights above and below the leaf, and
consider the air densities at these heights. Because SDPOTU So
air is compressible, the density (2) below the leaf is 9
greater than the density (1) above the leaf. But we JO PGG
1TGDDPOTU 1TGDo
will focus mostly on how the densities at these fixed
altitudes change for the following scenarios.
D
E
B
C
D
Latent Heating
)JHI )JHI
Water vapor might condense into drops or de-
posit into ice crystals at some heights within an air 1
L1B
'1( '1(
column releasing latent heat and warming the
column. If some of these precipitation particles
DPPM
DPPM
DPPM
XBSN
Tv a Lv liq
= RR (13.38)
t z Cp air
Figure 13.44
Illustration of diabatic heating. (a) Initial condition of cool air
where RR is rainfall rate (mm h1), Tv is average air- in the column. Green lines are isobars. (b) A deep cloud causes
column virtual temperature, a = 10 6 km mm1, z warming in the center of the air column due to latent heating,
is depth of the air column (km), the ratio of latent with precipitation falling out of the bottom of the column (repre-
heat of vaporization to specific heat of air is Lv/Cp = sented by black rain drops). But the outside of the air column is
2500 Kkgair /kgliq, and where (air , liq ) are air and not heated (contains no clouds) and remains cool. The thickness
liquid-water densities, respectively, with liq = 1000 between isobaric surfaces is thicker in warm air than cool. This
causes pressure gradient forces (FPG, purple arrows) from warm
kg m3).
to the cold air. These forces drive winds that remove air mol-
But the hypsometric equation relates pressure
ecules from high pressure into lower pressure. (c) The resulting
changes to temperature changes (Fig. 13.44). Thus, reduction of air mass in the warm core reduces sea-level pres-
eq. (13.38) and the hypsometric equation can be sure (Low; i.e., cyclogenesis), and adds mass into the cool-air
merged to give: regions (creating sea-level highs).
466 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
$BOBEB
Ps g L
= v liq RR (13.39)
t Tv Cp
L
for an air column with average virtual temperature
(Kelvin) of Tv ( 300 K), and where gravitational ac-
celeration magnitude is |g| = 9.8 ms2. Although
latent heating and cooling might occur at different
"UMBOUJD
0DFBO
heights within the air column, eq. (13.39) describes
the net column-average effect.
For a typical value of Tv , eq. (13.39) reduces to:
1BDJGJD
.FYJDP
0DFBO (VMGPG.FYJDP
Ps
b RR (13.40)
1SFDJQJUBUJPO NNI
BDDVNCZ65$
"QS t
Figure 13.45 g Lv
with factor b = liq 0.082 kPa mmrain1 .
Precipitation (liquid equivalent) measured with rain gauges. Tv Cp
You can estimate rainfall rate with weather radar,
or you can measure it with rain gauges. Fig. 13.45
shows measured precipitation liquid-equivalent
Sample Application depth (after melting any snow) for the case-study
For the maximum contoured precipitation rate for storm.
the case-study storm (in Fig. 13.45), find the diabatic
heating contribution to sea-level pressure tendency.
Net Pressure Tendency
Find the Answer The previous heuristic models for horizontal
Given: RR = 60 mm/24 h advection (horiz. adv.) and boundary-layer pump-
Find: Ps/t = ? kPa h1 ing (B.L.Pumping) and upper-level divergence
(U.L.Diverg.) and latent heating can be combined
First, convert RR from 24 h to 1 hr:
within the framework of Fig. 13.46 to give an equa-
RR = 2.5 mm h1
tion for sea-level net pressure tendency:
Use eq. (13.40): (13.41)
Ps/t = (0.082 kPa/mmrain)(2.5 mm h1) Ps P
= 0.205 kPa h1 = Mc s + g BL WBL g mid Wmid bRR
t s
Check: Physics, magnitude & units are reasonable. tendency = horiz. adv. & B.L.Pumping & U.L.Diverg. & heating
Exposition: This deepening rate corresponds to 4.9
kPa day1 large enough to be classified as a cyclone where (BL, mid) and (WBL, Wmid) are the average air
bomb. densities and vertical velocities at boundary-layer
top and mid-troposphere, respectively. The air-col-
umn horizontal translation speed is Mc (defined as
[ positive for the average movement direction along
path s). RR is rainfall rate at the surface, |g| = 9.8
KFUTUSFBNEJWFSHFODF ms2 is gravitational-acceleration magnitude, and
% b 0.082 kPa/mmrain. Cyclogenesis occurs when
Ps/t is negative.
VQXBSE We can create a toy model of cyclone evolution
NPUJPO using the equation above. Initially (time A in Fig.
13.47a) there is no extratropical cyclone. But if there
CPVOEBSZ is a Rossby wave in the jet stream, then we can an-
$
MBZFSQVNQJOH ticipate horizontal divergence aloft (at the altitude of
Y
the tropopause) at a horizontal location east of the
- upper-level trough. As this upper-level divergence
Figure 13.46 removes air molecules from the air column under-
Sketch of coupling between convergence (C) in the boundary
neath it, sea-level pressure begins to decrease (time
layer and divergence (D) in the upper atmosphere. Arrows rep-
B in Fig. 13.47).
resent winds. L is location of low-pressure center at surface.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 467
JUBUJPO Condensation
OPSUI QSFDJQ
SFHJPO As discussed in the quasi-geostrophic vorticity
subsection, divergence of the upper-level winds east
X
HF
PM
Temperature Advection
Cyclone intensification can also occur when
warm air exists slightly west from the Rossby-wave
ridge axis, as sketched in Fig. 13.49. For this situa-
8BSN tion, warm air advects into the region just west of
the upper-level ridge, causing ridge heights to in-
crease. Also cold air advects under the upper-level
DPMEBJS XBSNBJS FBTU trough, causing heights to fall there.
BEWFDUJPO BEWFDUJPO
Figure 13.49
50 kPa chart showing a temperature field (shaded) that is 1/4
wavelength west of the wave in the height contours (solid lines).
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 469
OPSUI
X
USPVH
OF
I
PME
OFX
PME
OFX
SJEHF
E
PM
B
7HFOE
$PME
FBTU
Figure 13.50
50 kPa chart showing the westward shift and intensification of ) - )
north-south wave amplitude caused by differential temperature
advection.
Z 7HTUBSU 8BSN
Y
The net result is intensification of the Rossby-
C
B
$PME B
Z
Y
-
) - ) EFTDFOEJOHDPPM
ESZBJS
8BSN
5$
DF
Z FO
G MV
EJ G
Y
C
UJPO
$PME GPS NB
EF
) - )
Y
-
In addition, convergence into lows pulls the iso-
EFTDFOEJOHDPPM
therms closer together, while divergence around
ESZBJS
highs tends to push isotherms further apart. The
combination of rotation and convergence/diver- 2WFDUPS
gence tends to pack the isotherms into frontal zones
near lows, and spread isotherms into somewhat ho- 2WFDUPS
mogeneous airmasses at highs (Fig. 13.52b).
EPXO
Much of the first part of this chapter showed
2
(grey shaded in Fig. 13.54), with the cold front, occlud- cools adiabatically, clouds and orographic precipita-
ed front, and a short stub of a warm front. tion form over the mountains (indicated by m in
As the cyclone translates further eastward, its Fig. 13.54). Sometimes the cold front stalls (stops ad-
translation speed often slows and the low center vancing) while the pre-frontal jet continues to pump
turns northward toward the cold waters in the Gulf moisture toward the mountains. This atmospheric-
of Alaska a cyclone graveyard where lows go to river situation causes extremely heavy precipitation
die. In the late occluded phase, satellite images show and flooding.
a characteristic cinnamon roll cloud structure, such Fig. 13.55 shows an expanded view of the Van-
as sketched with grey shading for cyclone L2. couver, Seattle, Victoria region (corresponding to the
For cyclone L2, when the cold front progresses lower-right m from Fig. 13.54). Low-altitude winds
over the complex mountainous terrain of the Pacific split around the Olympic Mountains, only to con-
Northwest (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon), verge (thick dashed line) in a region of heavy rain or
the front becomes much more disorganized and dif-
snow called the Olympic Mountain Convergence
ficult to recognize in satellite and surface weather
Zone (also known as the Puget Sound Conver-
observations (as indicated with the dashed line over
British Columbia). gence Zone in the USA). The windward slopes of
The remaining portion of L2s cold front still over mountain ranges often receive heavy orographic pre-
the Pacific often continues to progress toward the cipitation (dotted ovals), while in between is often a
southeast as a headless front (seemingly detached rain shadow of clearer skies and less precipitation.
from its parent cyclone L2).
$P $BOBEB
BT
U.
/ 3B 3B UOT
JO JO
4
) /
7B
OD
IB
EP
PV
WF X $BOBEB
/ 3B S
JO *T r7BODPVWFS
MB
OE
-
N
64"
- N
7JDUPSJBr
$BTDBEF.UOT
/ /
0MZNQJD
) POTIPSF
.UOT r4FBUUMF
GMPX
64"
8 8 8
8
/
)VNJE
8
) ) Figure 13.55
Zoomed view of the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Ocean,
Figure 13.54 sounds, and straits are white, while higher terrain is shaded
Sketch of occluding mid-latitude cyclones approaching the darker. Arrows represent low-altitude wind.
Pacific Northwest coast of N. America.
(continues in next column)
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 473
B4. Find weather maps of common cyclogenesis lo- B14. Get a map of isotachs for the 20 or 30 kPa iso-
cations and storm tracks. baric surface. Label the quadrants of relative to the
jet-streak axis. Suggest locations where cyclogenesis
B5. Get weather maps that display how a cyclone is favored. At one of those regions, calculate verti-
is affected as it moves over large mountain ranges, cal velocity in the mid-troposphere that would be
such as the North American Coast Range, Rocky caused by divergence in the jet-streak winds.
Mountains, Cascade Mountains, or other significant
range in the world (as assigned by your instructor). B15. Get a map of geopotential height on an iso-
baric surface of 20 or 30 kPa. Comment on how the
B6. Draw on a map the path of a cyclone center, packing of heights changes as the jet stream flows in
and encircle regions on that map experiencing bad troughs and ridges.
weather (heavy rains, blizzards, windstorms, etc.).
B16. Capture a radar reflectivity image (perhaps
B7. Get maps showing cyclone bombs, and discuss a composite from many radars) that show the dis-
their life cycle. tribution of dBZ around an extratropical cyclone.
Comment on the amount of sea-level pressure ten-
B8. Get upper-air weather maps (such as at 30 or 20 dency due to latent-heating in different parts of the
kPa) showing wind isotachs or geopotential height cyclone.
contours. Use these maps to identify Rossby wave
lengths and amplitudes. B17. The case-study in this textbook showed weather
maps of typical variables and fields often employed
B9. Using the maps from exercise B8, measure the by meteorologists. Get and comment on the value
radius-of-curvature of troughs, and combine with of weather maps of other types of fields or variables,
wind-speed information to calculate vorticity. as you can acquire from national weather services or
weather research centers.
B10. Get geopotential height and temperature maps
for the 70 or 85 kPa isobaric surfaces. Use the meth- B18. Find a web site that produces maps of Q-vec-
od of crossing isopleths to identify which point on tors or Q-vector divergence. Print this map and a
the map has the largest temperature advection. normal surface weather map with fronts, and dis-
cuss how you would anticipate the cyclone to evolve
B11. Get geopotential height and vorticity maps on based on a Q-vector analysis.
the 50 kPa isobaric surface. Identify points on the
map that have the largest positive vorticity advection
474 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
A15. Using Fig. 13.15, find the most extreme value A23. Use the ageostrophic right-hand rule to find
horizontal divergence (10 5 s1) at 20 kPa over the the ageostrophic wind direction for the data of the
following USA state: previous problem.
a. MI b. WI c. IL d. IN e. TN f. GA
g. MS h. AB i. KY j. PA k. NY l. SC A24. Using the data from A22, find the updraft
speed (m s1) into a 4 km thick layer at the top of
A16. Find the vertical velocity (m s1) at altitude 9 the troposphere, assuming the half-width of the jet
km in an 11 km thick troposphere, if the divergence streak is 200 km.
(10 5 s1) given below occurs within a 2 km thick
layer within the top of the troposphere. A25. Suppose that the thickness of the 100 - 50 kPa
a. 0.2 b. 1 c. 1.5 d. 2 e. 3 f. 4 g. 5 h. 6 layer is 5.5 km and the Coriolis parameter is 10 4 s1.
i. 0.3 j.0.7 k. 1.8 l. 2.2 m. 3.5 n. 5 A 20 m s1 thermal wind from the west blows across
a domain of x dimension given below in km. Across
A17. Jet-stream inflow is 30 m s1 in a 4 km thick lay- that domain in the x-direction is a decrease of cy-
er near the top of the troposphere. Jet-stream out- clonic relative vorticity of 3x10 4 s1. What is the
flow (m s1) given below occurs 800 km downwind value of mid-tropospheric ascent velocity (m s1),
within the same layer. Find the vertical velocity (m based on the omega equation?
s1) at the bottom of that layer a. 200 b. 300 c. 400 d. 500 e. 600
a. 35 b. 40 c. 45 d. 50 e. 55 f. 60 g. 65 f. 700 g. 800 h. 900 i. 1000 j. 1100
h. 70 i. 30 j. 25 k. 20 l. 15 m. 10 n. 5 k. 1200 l. 1300 m. 1400 n. 1400
A18. Find the diagonal distance (km) from trough to A26. On the 70 kPa isobaric surface, Ug/x = (4 m
crest in a jet stream for a wave of 750 km amplitude s1)/(500 km) and T/x = ___C/(500 km), where the
with wavelength (km) of: temperature change is given below. All other gradi-
a. 1000 b. 1300 c. 1600 d. 2000 e. 2200 ents are zero. Find the Q-vector components Qx, Qy,
f. 2500 g. 2700 h. 3000 i. 3100 j. 3300 and the magnitude and direction of Q.
k. 3800 l. 4100 m. 4200 n. 4500 a. 1 b. 1.5 c. 2 d. 2.5 e. 3 f. 3.5 g. 4
h. 4.5 i. 5 j. 5.5 k. 6 l. 6.5 m. 7 n. 7.5
A19. Given the data from the previous exercise, find
the radius (km) of curvature near the crests of a si- A27. Find Q-vector magnitude on the 85 kPa isobaric
nusoidal wave in the jet stream. surface if the magnitude of the horizontal tempera-
ture gradient is 5C/200 km, and the magnitude of
A20. Find the gradient-wind speed difference (m s1) the geostrophic-wind difference-vector component
between the jet-stream speed moving through the (m s1) along an isotherm is __ /200 km, where __
anticyclonic crest of a Rossby wave in the N. Hemi- is:
sphere and the jet-stream speed moving through the a. 1 b. 1.5 c. 2 d. 2.5 e. 3 f. 3.5 g. 4
trough. Use data from the previous 2 exercises, and h. 4.5 i. 5 j. 5.5 k. 6 l. 6.5 m. 7 n. 7.5
assume a geostrophic wind speed of 75 m s1 for a
wave centered on latitude 40N. A28. Find the mass of air over 1 m2 of the Earths
surface if the surface pressure (kPa) is:
A21. Given the data from the previous 3 exercises. a. 103 b. 102 c. 101 d. 99 e. 98 f. 97 g. 96
Assuming that the gradient-wind speed difference h. 95 i. 93 j. 90 k. 85 l. 80 m. 75 n. 708
476 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
A29. Assume the Earths surface is at sea level. Find E8. Why are there no extratropical cyclone tracks
the vertical velocity (m s1) at height 3 km above from east to west in Fig. 13.5?
ground if the change of surface pressure (kPa) dur-
ing 1 hour is: E9. Contrast the climatology of cyclone formation
a. 0.5 b. 0.4 c. 0.3 d. 0.2 e. 0.1 f. 0.1 and tracks in the Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere
g. 0.2 h. 0.4 i. 0.6 j. 0.8 k. 1.0 l. 1.2 m. 1.4 (using the info in Fig. 13.5), and explain why there
is a difference in behaviors based on the dynamical
A30. Given the rainfall (mm) accumulated over a principles in the last half of the chapter.
day. If the condensation that caused this precipita-
tion occurred within a cloud layer of thickness 6 km, E10. Justify why the tank illustration in Fig. 13.6 is a
then find the virtual-temperature warming rate (C good analogy to atmospheric flow between cyclones
day1) of that layer due to latent heat release. and anticyclones.
a. 1 b. 50 c. 2 d. 45 e. 4 f. 40 g. 5
h. 35 i. 7 j. 30 k. 10 l. 25 m. 15 n. 20 E11. Fig. 13.7 shows the axis of low pressure tilting
westward with increasing height. Explain why this
A31. For the data in the previous exercise, find the tilt is expected. (Hints: On which side of the cy-
rate of decrease of surface pressure (kPa) per hour, clone do you expect the warm air and the cold air?
assuming an average air temperature of 5C. The hypsometric equation in Chapter 1 tells us how
fast pressure decreases with height in air of differ-
ent temperatures.)
Evaluate & Analyze E12. Redraw Fig. 13.7 a & b for the Southern Hemi-
E1. Compare the similarities and differences be-
sphere, by extending your knowledge of how cy-
tween cyclone structure in the Northern and South-
clones work in the Northern Hemisphere.
ern Hemisphere?
E13. Regarding stacking and tilting of low pressure
E2. In the Cyclogenesis & Cyclolysis section is a list
with altitude, make a photocopy of Fig. 13.3, and on
of conditions that favor rapid cyclogenesis. For any
this copy for Figs. b and e draw the likely position
3 of those bullets, explain why they are valid based
of the trough axis near the top of the troposphere.
on the dynamical processes that were described in
Justify your hypothesis.
the last half of the chapter.
E14. Fig. 13.8 shows a warm-air conveyor bring air
E3. For a cyclone bomb, are the winds associated
from the tropics. Assuming this air has high hu-
with that cyclone in geostrophic equilibrium? Hints:
midity, explain how this conveyor helps to strength-
consider the rate of air-parcel acceleration, based on
en the cyclone. Using dynamical principles from the
Newtons 2nd Law. Namely, can winds accelerate
last half of the chapter to support your explanation.
fast enough to keep up with the rapidly increasing
pressure gradient?
E15. Fig. 13.10a has coarse temporal resolution when
it shows the evolution of the case-study cyclone.
E4. Make a photocopy of Fig. 13.3. For each one of
Based on your knowledge of cyclone evolution,
the figure panels on this copy, infer the centerline
draw two weather maps similar to Fig. 13.10a, but
position of the jet stream and draw it on those dia-
for 12 UTC 3 Apr 2014 and 00 UTC 4 Apr 2014.
grams.
E16. Speculate on why the hail reports in Fig. 13.9
E5. Create a 6-panel figure similar to Fig. 13.3, but
are mostly in different regions than the wind-dam-
for cyclone evolution in the Southern Hemisphere.
age reports.
E6. Justify the comment that cyclone evolution obeys
E17. From the set of case-study maps in Figs. 13.9
Le Chateliers Principle.
through 13.19, if you had to pick 3 maps to give you
the best 5-D mental picture of the cyclones, which 3
E7. Refer back to the figure in the General Circu-
would you pick? Justify your answer.
lation chapter that sketches the position of moun-
tain ranges in the world. Use that information to
E18. Of the following isosurfaces (height, pressure,
hypothesize favored locations for lee cyclogenesis in
thickness, and potential temperature), which one
the world, and test your hypothesis against the data
seems the most peculiar (unusual, illogical) to you?
in Fig. 13.5.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 477
What questions would you want to ask to help you E28. Considering the terrain height changes, would
learn more about that one isosurface? anticyclones be triggered upwind of mountain rang-
es, analogous to lee-side cyclogenesis? Justify your
E19. Starting with a photocopy of the 4 height charts answer, and discuss how you can confirm if this
in the left column of Figs. 13.13, use a different color happens in the real atmosphere.
pen/pencil for each isobaric surface, and trace all
the height contours onto the same chart. Analyze E29. Suppose that all of North America is nearly at
the tilt with height of the axis of low pressure, and sea level, except for a 2 km deep valley that is 500
explain why such tilt does or does not agree with the km wide, running north-south across the center of
state of cyclone evolution at that time. North America (assume the valley is not filled with
water). Explain what Rossby waves would be trig-
E20. Compare and contrast the 85 kPa temperature gered, and the associated weather downwind.
map of Fig. 13.14 with the thickness map of Fig. 13.16
for the case-study storm. Why or why not would E30. Summer tropopause height is higher, and jet-
you expect them to be similar? stream winds are slower, than in winter. Explain
the seasonal differences you would expect in ter-
E21. Compare the wind vectors of Fig. 13.13 with rain-triggered Rossby waves, if any.
the heights in Fig. 13.13. Use your understanding of
wind dynamics to explain the relationship between E31. If extratropical cyclones tend to propagate
the two maps. equatorward on the lee side of mountain ranges, is
there any geographic feature that would cause these
E22. In the vertical cross section of Fig. 13.19a, why storms to propagate poleward? Justify.
are the isentropes packed more closely together in
the stratosphere than in the troposphere? Also, why E32. Fig. 13.22 highlights 3 important attributes of
is the tropopause higher on the right side of that cyclones that are discussed in greater detail in the
figure? [Hints: Consider the standard atmosphere last half of the chapter. Speculate on why we study
temperature profile from Chapter 1. Consider the these attributes separately, even though the caption
General Circulation chapter.] to that figure discusses how all 3 attributes are re-
lated.
E23. Describe the relationship between the surface
values of isentropes in Fig. 13.19a and the tempera- E33. For cyclogenesis we focused on three attributes:
ture values along cross-section A - A in Fig. 13.14 vertical velocity, vorticity, and pressure-tendency at
(bottom left). sea level. What attributes would you want to focus
on to anticipate cyclolysis? Explain.
E24. In Fig. 13.20, how would lee cyclogenesis be af-
fected if the tropopause perfectly following the ter- E34. Three vorticity tilting terms are given in eq.
rain elevation? Explain. (13.9), but just the first tilting term was illustrated in
Fig. 13.23d. Draw figures for the other two terms.
E25. In Fig. 13.20, speculate on why the particular
set of Rossby waves discussed in that section are E35. Except for the last term in the full vorticity ten-
known as stationary waves. dency equation, all the other terms can evaluate to
be positive or negative (i.e., gain or loss of relative
E26. Can stationary Rossby waves such as in Fig. vorticity). What is it about the mathematics of the
13.20 occur near the equator? If so, what are their turbulent drag term in that equation that always
characteristics? make it a loss of relative vorticity?
E27. Given zonal flow of the whole troposphere (12 E36. Based on what you learned from Fig. 13.24,
km depth) hitting a semi-infinite plateau at 32N what tips would you teach to others to help them
latitude. Use math to explain the flow behavior over easily find regions of PVA and NVA.
the plateau, assuming a 2 km plateau height above
sea level. Assume the tropopause height doesnt E37. Make a diagram that shows vertical advection
change. Would the triggering of cyclones, and the of vorticity, similar to the drawing in Fig. 13.23a.
wavelength of planetary waves be different? Why?
Can you relate your answer to weather over the Ti- E38. If drag were the only non-zero term on the right
betan Plateau? side of eq. (13.9), then how would vorticity change
478 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
with time if initially the flow had some amount of E50. Consider a steady, straight jet stream from west
positive vorticity? to east. Instead of a jet streak of higher wind speed
imbedded in the jet stream, suppose the jet streak
E39. Devise a tilting term for vertical vorticity that has lower wind speed imbedded in the jet stream.
is tilted into horizontal vorticity. For the right and left entrance and exit regions to
this slow jet streak, describe which ones would
E40. For what situations might the quasi-geostroph- support cyclogenesis at the surface.
ic approximation be useful, and for what situations
would it be inappropriate? E51. Does the Ageostrophic right-hand rule work
in the Southern Hemisphere too? Justify your an-
E41. The quasi-geostrophic vorticity equation in- swer based on dynamical principles.
cludes a term related to vorticity advection by the
geostrophic wind. The omega equation has a term E52. Eq. (13.25) was for a west wind, and eq. (13.26)
related to vorticity advection by the thermal wind. was for a south wind. What method would you use
Contrast these terms, and how they provide infor- to estimate ageostrophic wind if the wind was from
mation about cyclogenesis. the southwest?
E42. Employ Figs. 13.9 - 13.19 to estimate as many E53. Fig. 13.34 suggests low-altitude convergence of
vorticity-tendency terms as reasonably possible for air toward cyclones (lows), rising motion, and high-
that case study event, on the 50 kPa isobaric surface altitude divergence. Is this sketch supported by the
at the location of the X. case-study data from Figs. 13.15, 13.25, and 13.26?
E43. Create a toy model similar to Fig. 13.27, but E54. The green arrows showing near-surface winds
focus on the vorticity effects east of the ridge axis. are plotted in Fig. 13.34 as a component of the sec-
Use this to help explain anticyclogenesis. ondary circulation. What drives these near-surface
winds? (Hint: Recall that winds are driven by forc-
E44. If nothing else changes except latitude, explain es, according to Newton.)
the relationship between Rossby-wave radius-of-
curvature and latitude. E55. a. Use Figs. 12.12 from the Fronts & Airmasses
chapter to find the location where horizontal tem-
E45. Why does jet-stream curvature contribute to perature advection is greatest near a warm front. b.
surface cyclogenesis east of the jet trough axis rather Similar questions but using Fig. 12.11 for cold fronts.
than west of the trough axis? Hint: Use the technique shown in the INFO box for
max advection in Chapter 13.
E46. In the Forces and Winds chapter you saw that
the horizontal pressure gradient and wind speeds E56. Discuss how Fig. 13.37 relates to the omega
are weak. Does this physical constraint influence equation, and how the figure and equation can be
the possible strength of the jet-stream curvature ef- used to locate regions that favor cyclogenesis.
fect for cyclogenesis?
E57. Create a new form for the omega equation,
E47. At the X in Fig. 13.30, use the information based on:
plotted on that map to estimate how the jet-stream a. the change of geostrophic wind with height;
curvature and jet-streak processes influence changes b. the temperature change in the horizontal.
to sea-level pressure and ascent speed in the middle Hint: The horizontal-temperature gradient is relat-
of the troposphere. ed to the geostrophic-wind vertical gradient by the
thermal-wind relationship.
E48. Make a photo copy of Fig. 13.18. Using the jet-
stream curvature and jet-streak information that E58. What steps and assumptions must you make to
you can estimate from the height contours, draw on change eq. (13.28 into eq. (13.29)?
your copy the locations in the Northern Hemisphere
where cyclogenesis is favored. E59. Would the omega equation give any verti-
cal motion for a situation having zero temperature
E49. For the jet-streak illustration of Fig. 13.32b, ex- gradient in the horizontal (i.e., zero baroclinicity)?
plain why two of the quadrants have weaker conver- Why?
gence or divergence than the other two quadrants.
R. Stull Practical Meteorology 479
E60. What role does inertia play in the geostrophic E71. Use Fig. 13.52 to explain why fronts are associ-
paradox? ated with cyclones and not anticyclones. The same
figure can be used to explain why airmasses are as-
E61. Suppose that the 85 kPa geostrophic wind vec- sociated with anticyclones. Discuss.
tors are parallel to the height contours in Fig. 13.13
for the case-study storm. Use that information along E72. If global baroclinicity is absent (e.g., no air-
with the 85 kPa isotherms in Fig. 13.14 to estimate temperature gradient between the equator and the
the direction of the Q-vectors at the center of the fol- poles), could there be cyclogenesis? Why?
lowing USA state:
a. IL b. IA c. MO d. KS e. AR E73. Explain how the up- and down-couplet of air
motion in Fig. 13.53c (as diagnosed using Q-vectors),
E62. Use the Q-vector approach to forecast where works in a way to strengthen and propagate the cold
cyclogenesis might occur in the Pacific Northwest front.
USA (in the upper left quadrant of Figs. 13.40 and
13.41). E74. Use a Q-vector analysis to speculate on the dy-
namics needed to cause warm fronts to strengthen
E63. In Fig. 13.43 we showed have the vertical speeds and propagate.
of the leaf in the air column could be a surrogate
for changes in mass and surface pressure. Discuss E75. Synthesize a coherent description of the dy-
the pros and cons of that approach. namics of the case-study cyclone, based on informa-
tion from the weather maps that help you estimate
E64. If rainfall rate (RR) affects surface pressure, ascent, spin-up, and sea-level pressure tendency.
and weather-radar echo intensity (dBZ) can be used
to estimate rainfall rate, then devise an equation for E76. Compare and contrast the Pacific cyclones of
surface-pressure change as a function of dBZ. Fig. 13.54 with the case-study cyclone of Figs. 13.13
- 13.15.
E65. Considering surface-pressure tendency, what
cyclogenesis information can be gained from Dop-
pler velocities measured by weather radar? State the
Synthesize
limitations of such an approach.
S1. Consider Fig. 13.6. What if frictional drag is zero
at the bottom of the atmosphere (in the boundary
E66. Are there situations for which cyclolysis (quan-
layer). Describe differences in the resulting climate
tified by sea-level pressure tendency) might be
and weather.
caused by latent heating. Justify your arguments.
S2. What if the case-study cyclone of Figs. 13.9 - 13.19
E67. In Fig. 13.47, describe the dynamics that makes
occurred in February rather than April, what broad
the time of maximum convergence in the boundary
aspects of the storm data would change, if at all?
layer occur after the time of maximum divergence in
the jet stream, during cyclone evolution.
S3. What if there were no mountain ranges oriented
south-north in North America. Describe differences
E68. Suppose that the temperature wave in Fig. 13.49
in the resulting climate and weather.
was a quarter of a wavelength east of the height
wave. Would the flow differ from that sketched in
S4. What if all south-north mountain ranges disap-
Fig. 13.50? Speculate on how likely it is that the tem-
peared in North America, and were replaced by one
perature wave is shifted this way.
west-east mountain range. Describe differences in
the resulting climate and weather.
E69. Do you think that anticyclones could self de-
velop? Explain what processes could make this hap-
S5. Suppose western North America was cold, and
pen.
eastern North America was warm. Describe the
orientation of baroclinicity, the jet stream, and dif-
E70. Explain why the Q-vector analysis of Fig. 13.51
ferences in resulting climate and weather relative to
indicates the propagation of cyclones is toward the
our actual climate and weather.
east. Also explain why this relates to self-propaga-
tion rather than relating to cyclogenesis driven by
S6. Describe changes to Rossby waves and cyclo-
the jet-stream flow.
genesis for an Earth that rotates twice as fast as the
real Earth.
480 chapter 13 Extratropical cyclones
S7. How would you numerically solve (iterate) the S9. Describe changes in climate and weather that
quasi-geostrophic omega and vorticity equations to might be expected of stratospheric static stability ex-
step forward in time to forecast those variables. tended all the way to the Earths surface.
Next, describe how you could use those forecasts
to estimate the corresponding temperature and S10. Describe possible changes to climate and
wind. Finally, describe the pros and cons of using weather if there were no mid-latitude cyclones.
these quasi-geostrophic equations instead of using
the forecast equations for momentum, heat, water, S11. Suppose the sun turned off, but radioactive de-
continuity, and the ideal gas law (as is done in mod- cay of minerals in the solid earth caused sufficient
ern numerical weather prediction). heat to keep the Earth-system temperature the same
as now. Describe resulting changes to the jet stream,
S8. Accelerations and direction changes of the jet Rossby waves, and weather.
stream create regions of horizontal convergence and
divergence that support cyclogenesis and anticyclo- S12. Re-read this chapter and extract all the forecast-
genesis. What if this happened on a planet where ing tips to create your own concise synoptic-weather
the tropospheric and stratospheric static stability forecast guide.
were nearly the same. Describe the resulting dif-
ferences of climate and weather on that planet com-
pared to Earth.
Fig. 13.56.
Surface weather map for the case-study cyclone, from www.hpc.
ncep.gov/dailywxmap/ .