Cyclones and Anticyclones

in the Mid-Latitudes
Val Bennington
November, 2008

QuickTime and a
FLIC Animation decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Anticyclones
High pressure systems
Just air masses with temperature and
moisture varying slightly over large area
Clear, calm, pretty dry
Blob-like, with small pressure gradients
and slower winds

Anticyclone

Anticyclone (High)
Which way does the
wind blow?
Does air diverge or
converge at the
surface?
Does air converge
or diverge above the
high?

Anticyclone (High)
Which way does the
wind blow?
--> anti-cyclonic =
clockwise!
Does air diverge or
converge at the
surface?
-->Diverges!
Does air converge or
diverge above the high?
-->Converges!

Anticyclones (Highs)

Anticyclones (Highs)

Generally boring weather - clear, calm

Linger for a while, but can be nice
Trap air near surface (sinking motion)
Blob-like air masses
Air mass stays long can take on
characteristics of land it is over

Fronts and Cyclones!

Fronts
What about when two air masses meet?
We get a front - large changes in
temperature and moisture over small
area

What is a Cyclone?
A cyclone is simply an area of low
pressure around which the winds flow
counterclockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and clockwise in the
Southern Hemisphere
Cyclones form and grow near the front
Cyclones (lows) are cloudy, wet, stormy

Cyclones have converging air

at surface that rises!

COLD FRONTS

Cold Front

A transition zone where a cold air mass replaces a warm air mass
Drawn as a blue line with blue triangles pointing in the direction of
the fronts movement

Cold Fronts

Cold Front

Cold air is more dense than warm air!

As the dense, cold air moves into the warm air region, it forces the
warm air to rapidly rise just ahead of the cold front.
This results in deep convective clouds, occasionally producing
strong to severe thunderstorms (depending on how unstable the
atmosphere ahead of the cold front is).
Often, the precipitation along a cold front is a very narrow line of
thunderstorms

Warm Fronts

Warm Front

A transition zone where a warm air mass replaces a cold air mass
Drawn as a red line with red half-circles pointing in the direction
of the fronts movement
TEMPERATURE CONTRAST ALONG WARM FRONTS IS
GENERALLY LESS DISTINCT (SMALLER GRADIENT)

Warm Fronts

Warm Front

Again, warm air is less dense than cold air.

As the warm air moves north, it slides up the gently sloping warm
front.
Because warm fronts have a less steep slope than cold fronts, the
precipitation associated with warm fronts is more stratiform (less
convective), but generally covers a greater area.

Occluded Fronts
Occluded Front
A region where a faster moving
cold front has caught up to a slower
moving warm front.
Generally occurs near the end of
the life of a cyclone
Drawn with a purple line with
alternating semicircles and
triangles

Stationary Fronts

Front is stalled
No movement of the
temperature gradient
But, there is still convergence
of winds, and forcing for ascent
(and often precipitation) in the
vicinity of a stationary front.
Drawn as alternating segments
of red semicircles and blue
triangles, pointing in opposite
directions

Locating Fronts
Fronts are associated with . . .
Strong temperature gradients
Positive vorticity (counter-clockwise rotation)
Lower pressure
Regions of convergence of the winds
Often precipitation and clouds (regions of ascent)

Locating Fronts

Here, the winds are

rapidly changing
counterclockwise across
this temperature gradient.

The winds are blowing

warm air from the south.

This is a warm front.

Locating Fronts

In this case, the winds are

also rapidly changing
counterclockwise across
this temperature gradient,
indicating positive
vorticity.
The winds are blowing
cold air from the
northwest.

This is a cold front.

Locating Fronts

To find the cyclone:

Find the center of cyclonic
circulation

To find the fronts:

Find large temperature gradients
Identify regions of wind shifts
Look for specific temperature
advection (warm/cold)
Look for kinks in the isobars
(regions of slightly lower pressure)

Locating Fronts

To find the cyclone:

Find the center of cyclonic
circulation

To find the fronts:

Find large temperature gradients
Identify regions of wind shifts
Look for specific temperature
advection (warm/cold)
Look for kinks in the isobars
(regions of slightly lower pressure)

The Life Cycle of

Extra-tropical
(Mid-Latitude) Cyclones

The Birth of a Cyclone

A mid-latitude cyclone is
born in a region where
their is a strong
temperature gradient
with forced lifting,
perhaps an old
stationary front
At the polar front!

Stage Two
An instability (kink) forms
Warm air pushes to the
northeast
Cold air pushes to the
southwest
This will create the
fronts!

Mature Stage

Takes 12-24 hours to develop

Warm front moves NE
Cold front moves SE
Region between fronts called
warm sector
Low pressure lowers (deepens)
Wide-spread precip ahead of
warm front
Narrow band of precip at cold
front
Wind speeds increase

Cyclone Movement
Cyclone moves
eastward (or to NE)
Starts to occlude
(cold front catching
up)
Storm most intense
Triple point is where
cold, warm, and
occluded fronts meet

Final Stage
Warm sector shrinks
Occlusion grows
All energy from
temperature contrast
has been used up
Warm air has been
lifted
Cold air has sunk
STABLE

Weather with the Cyclone of late fall or early spring

Precipitation Around a Cyclone and its Fronts

To the right is a major cyclone

that affected the central U.S. on
November 10, 1998.

Around the cold front, the

precipitation is more intense, but
there is less areal coverage.

North of the warm front, the

precipitation distribution is more
stratiform: Widespread and
less intense.

http://weather.unisys.com

Precipitation Around a Cyclone and its Fronts

Again, in this radar and surface
pressure distribution from
December 1, 2006, the
precipitation along the cold
front is much more compact and
stronger.

North of the warm front, the

precipitation is much more
stratiform.

Also note the kink in the isobars

along the cold front!

Locating a Cyclone

1. Find the region of

lowest sea level
pressure

L
2. Find the center of the
cyclonic (counterclockwise) circulation

What about Vertical

Structure?

Pressure
If we have converging air at the surface, must have
divergence aloft!
Otherwise, air would fill up the low and the pressure
would rise

Review
Winds converge at a surface low pressure center
Winds diverge from a surface high pressure center
(this is because of the frictional force at the surface)
This Convergence/Divergence suggests that there must be
movement of air in the vertical (cant lose air parcels)
Flow in the upper troposphere is generally in geostrophic
balance, so we do not get divergence/convergence high up caused
by friction
How do we get divergence/converge up high?

Upper Tropospheric Flow

Typical 500 mb height pattern

Notice the troughs (dotted line) and ridges
The troughs and ridges are successive
In the northern hemisphere, lower pressure is generally to the
north of higher pressure

Relative Vorticity
If the wind has
counterclockwise spin, it has
positive vorticity (left)
If the wind has clockwise
spin, it has negative vorticity
(right)

Vorticity can be directional

(top), or speed shear vorticity
(bottom)

Vorticity in the Upper Troposphere

Where is there vorticity
advection?
Pinpoint vorticity minima
and maxima.
maxima
Negative vorticity advection
(NVA)
NVA occurs just
downstream from a ridge
axis (vorticity minimum)

Positive vorticity advection

(PVA)
PVA occurs just
downstream from a trough
axis (vorticity maximum)

Vorticity Advection and Vertical Motion

* Positive vorticity advection (PVA)

PVA results in divergence at that
level

* Negative vorticity advection (NVA) results in convergence at

that level

Vorticity Advection and Vertical Motion

Remember that convergence at upper levels is associated with

downward vertical motion (subsidence), and divergence at upper
levels is associated with upward vertical motion (ascent).

Then, we can make the important argument that . . .

Upper Tropospheric Flow and Convergence/Divergence

Downstream of an upper tropospheric ridge, there is convergence,

resulting in subsidence (downward motion).
Likewise, downstream of an upper tropospheric trough, there is
divergence, resulting in ascent (upward motion).

Upper Tropospheric Flow and Convergence/Divergence

Downstream of an upper tropospheric ridge axis is a favored

location for a surface high pressure.
Downstream of an upper tropospheric trough axis is a favored
location for a surface low pressure center.

Upper Tropospheric Flow and Convergence/Divergence

Surface cyclones move in the direction of the upper tropospheric flow!

The storm speed and direction can also be identified on the 500 mb map. Cyclones move in the direction
of the 500 mb flow, the 500 mb flow is also called the steering flow. The cyclone also moves at about half
the speed of the 500 mb flow.

The surface low pressure center in diagram above will track to the
northeast along the upper tropospheric jet
(along the surface temperature gradient)

Vertical Structure of Cyclones

What else do these diagrams tell

us?
Surface cyclone is downstream
from the upper tropospheric
(~500 mb) trough axis
Mid-latitude cyclones generally
tilt westward with height!

Vertical Structure of Cyclones

500 mb positive vorticity

advection causes divergence and
ascent
This induces a surface cyclone
Cyclone formation occurs
because of this upper-level
divergence!

Longwaves and Shortwaves

The flow in the upper troposphere is characterized as having . . .
Longwaves: There are typically 4-6 of these around the planet.
The longwave pattern can last for as long as 2-3 weeks on
occasion, and can result in long periods of anomalous weather
Shortwaves: Embedded in the longwave pattern are smaller
scale areas of high vorticity (lots of curvature). They move
quickly east within the longwaves, and generally strengthen when
they hit a longwave trough. Often, shortwaves result in huge
cyclogenesis events such as nor-easters or midwest snowstorms.

Longwaves vs. Shortwaves

To the left is a North
Pole projection of
300 mb heights
(contoured) and wind
speed (colors)
North Pole is at the
center, equator is at
the edges

GH
U
O
R
AVE T
W
G
LON

Note the prominent

longwave troughs
and ridges--especially over North
America

Longwaves vs. Shortwaves

Notice two longwave
troughs in this 500 mb
height (contour) and
vorticity (colored) map:
One over the NW U.S.,
and one over eastern
Canada.

Also, note a very subtle

shortwave over
Montana/Wyoming (you
can see this in the
vorticity field as a strip
of anomalously large
vorticity.

SHORTWAVE
LONGWAVE TROUGH

Vertical Structure of Cyclones

700mb

Downstream from troughs are favorable locations for ascent (red/orange)

Downstream from ridges are good locations for descent (purple/blue)

Cyclone Intensification/Weakening
How do we know if the surface cyclone will intensify or weaken?
If upper tropospheric divergence > surface convergence,
convergence the
cyclone will intensify (the low pressure will become lower)
If surface convergence > upper tropospheric divergence,
divergence the
cyclone will weaken, or fill.
Think of an intensifying cyclone as exporting mass, and a
weakening cyclone as importing mass.

Pressure
If we have converging air at the surface, must have
divergence aloft!
Otherwise, air would fill up the low and the pressure
would rise

Example of Cyclone Development Forced by Upper Flow

Example 300 mb
flow which
resulted in a
massive cyclone
development over
the midwest.

TROUGH AXIS

http://weather.unisys.com

Example of Cyclone Development Forced by Upper Flow

Surface cyclone
(over NW
Oklahoma) is
positioned just
downstream of the
trough axis in the
previous image.

Same time as the

previous image.

Example of Cyclone Development Forced by Upper Flow

12 hours later, the jet

speed maximum has
shifted downstream
with the trough, and
there appear to be two
trough axes.

The trough is
negatively tilted,
(NW-SE in orientation)
often a sign of very
strong PVA and forced
ascent.

TROUGH AXIS

Example of Cyclone Development Forced by Upper Flow

Now, the surface
cyclone has
deepened to a very
low 977 mb.

In general, it is still
located
downstream of the
trough axis, but the
trough axis appears
to be catching up to
the surface
cyclone.

Example of Cyclone Development Forced by Upper Flow

12 hours later:
300 mb upper
tropospheric low
hasnt moved too
much
Upper low is
situated over
eastern Lake
Superior.

TROUGH AXIS

Example of Cyclone Development Forced by Upper Flow

SFC at same time:
Surface cyclone is
also over eastern Lake
Superior!
This means that the
surface cyclone is no
longer in a favorable
position for PVA (or
upper divergence and
ascent)
At this point, the
surface cyclone will
weaken!
Cyclone is vertically
stacked.

Temperature Advection

Consider a longwave over a stationary front, seen in (a). The height lines and the
isotherms are parallel to each other, we can say the atmosphere is barotropic.
At time (b) a shortwave moves into the longwave trough and intensifies. The shortwave
caused the isotherms to cross the height lines, thus the atmosphere is baroclinic
West of the height trough, a region of (CAA). Here, the cold air is more dense and will
cause sinking motions.
East of the trough, a region of (WAA). Here, the warm air will produce rising motions.

Jet Streaks and Shortwaves

If a shortwave trough is intensified in a longwave trough, height lines are

forced together:
large PGF in the base of a shortwave trough
We have seen before that large PGF corresponds to large wind speeds.

Jet Streaks and Shortwaves

Largest wind speeds where height lines are the closest together on an
upper level map.
Wind speed decreases outward from this point.
Therefore we have a convergence of wind to the left/west of a trough and
the divergence of wind to the east/right of a trough.

Jet Streaks and Shortwaves

If we look at the full vertical structure we will see that the

divergence and convergence associated with a jet streak
are directly above the low and high pressures at the
surface.

The full picture

Creating a Cyclone
If an upper level shortwave intensifies in a
longwave :
Jet streak creates upper level
convergence and divergence
Surface convergence occurs directly
below upper level divergence
Cyclone begins to develop

Cyclone Intensifies and Fades

Cyclone goes through its life cycle, intensifies, its
low pressure decreases, warm front and cold
front move
Upper level low to west of surface low (westward
tilt with height)
Upper level trough begins to catch up to surface
low (tilt decreases)
When cyclone is vertically stacked (no tilt),
cyclone begins to die
(no divergence above the surface convergence)