Abstract
The growing interest in meso-scale disturbances, often non-frontal and of convective nature, in polar air-masses reflects the fact that these disturbances are often accompanied by severe weather and that they sometimes even affect the large-scale weather in different ways. Comma-clouds and polar lows are the most well-known of these disturbances. However, our knowledge about the nature of these systems is still relatively meagre and in the recent years different modes of formation, including haro-clinic instability and CISK have been suggested in order to explain these phenomena. The paper gives a general overview of what is known about these systems, including some as yet un-published work.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bergeron,T., 1954: Reviews of tropical hurricanes. Quart. J. of the Roy. Met. Soc., 80, pp. 131–164.
Bosart, L.F., 1981: The presidents′ day snowstorm of 18–19 February 1979: a subsynoptic-scale event. Mon Wea. Rev., 109, pp. 1542–1566.
Böttger, H., K. Eckardt and U. Katergiannakis, 1975: Forecasting extratropical storms with hurricane intensity using satellite information. J. Appl. Meteor., 14, pp. 1259–1265.
Duncan, C.N., 1977: A numerical investigation of polar lows. Quart. J. of the Roy. Met. Soc., 103, pp. 255–267.
Fraedrich, K., E. Ruprecht and U. Trunte, 1976: Determination of the cirrus outflow divergence as seen by satellite. J. Appl. Meteor., 15, pp. 1312–1316.
Gray, W.M., 1981: Recent advances in tropical cyclone research from ravinsonde composite analysis, WMO Commission for Atmospheric Science, 1981.
Gyakum, J.R., 1981: On the nature of explosively developing cyclones in the northern hemisphere extratropical atmosphere. Ph.D.-thesis MIT, 1981.
Harrold, T.W. and K.A. Browning, 1969: The polar low as a baroclinic disturbance. Quart. J. of the Roy. Met. Soc., 95, pp. 791–730.
Locatelli, J.D., P.V. Hobbs, and J.A. Werth, 1982: Mesoscale structures of vortices in polar air streams. Accepted for publication in Mon. Wea. Rev.
Mansfield, D.A., 1974: Polar lows: The development of baroclinic disturbances in cold air outbreaks, Quart. J. of the Roy. Met. Soc., 100, pp. 541–554.
Mullen, S.L., 1979: An investigation of small synoptic scale cyclones in’polar air streams. Mon. Wea. Rev., 107, 16361647.
Ooyama, K., 1971: A theory on parameterization pf cumulus convection. J. Met. Soc. Japan, Ser. II, 49, special issue.
Palmén, E. and C.W. Newton, 1969: Atmospheric circulation systems. Academic Press, New York, 1969.
Rasmussen, E., 1977: The polar low as a CISK-phenomenon, Report No. 6. University of Copenhagen, ‘Institut for teoreretisk meteorologi.
Rasmussen, E., 1979: The polar low as an extratropical CISKdisturbance. Quart. J.
Rasmussen, E., 1981: An investigation of a polar low with a spiral cloud structure. Journ. of the Atm. Science, 38, 1785–1792.
Reed, R.J., 1979: Cyclogenesis in polar air streams. Mon. Wea. Rev., 107, 38–52.
Riehl, H., 1981: Some aspects of the advance in the knowledge of hurricanes. Pure and Appl. Geophysics, 119, No. 2, pp. 612–626.
Sanders, F. and J.R. Gyakum, 1980: Synoptic-dynamic climatology of the ‘bomb’. Mon. lTea. Rev., 108, pp. 1589–1606.
Seaman, N.L., H. Otten and R.A. Anthes, 1982: A rapidly developing polar low in the North Sea on January 2nd, 1979. Preprint Volume, First Intern. Conference on Meteorology and Air/Sea Interaction of the Coastal Zone, The I-Lague, Netherlands.
Sikdar, D.N., V.E. Suomi and C.E. Anderson, 1970: Convective transport of mass and energy in severe storms over the United States–an estimate from a geostationary altitude. Tellus, 22, pp. 521–532.
Sumner, E.J., 1950: The significance of vertical stability in synoptic development, Quart. J. R. Met. Soc., 76, 384–392.
Thepenier, R. and Gruette, D., 1981: Formation of cloud bands associated with the American subtropical jet stream and their interaction with midlatitude synoptic disturbances reaching Europe. Mon. Mea. Rev., 109, 2209–2220.
Zick, C., 1982: Method and results of an analysis of comma cloud development by means of vorticity fields from upper tropospheric satellite wind data. Submitted to Meteorologische Rundschau.
Okland, H., 1977: On the intensification of small-scale cyclones formed in very cold air masses heated by the ocean. Institute Report Series No. 26, Universitetet i Oslo, Institutt for Geofysikk.
Matsumoto, S., K. Ninomiya, R. Hasegawa and Y. I1iki, 1982: The structure and the role of a suhsynoptic-scale cold vortex on the heavy precipitation..Met.Soc.Japan, 60, pp. 339–354.
Forbes, G.S. and M.D. Lottes, 1982: Characteristics and evolution of mesoscale cloud vortices occuring in polar airstreams. Paper prepared for Conference on Cloud Physics, Chicago, November 1982.
Maddox, R.A. and C.A. Doswell, 1982: An examination of jet stream configurations, 500 mb vorticity advection and low level thermal advection patterns during extended periods of intense convection. Mon. Wea. Rev., 110, pp. 184–197.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rasmussen, E. (1983). A Review of Meso-Scale Disturbances in Cold Air Masses. In: Lilly, D.K., Gal-Chen, T. (eds) Mesoscale Meteorology — Theories, Observations and Models. NATO ASI Series, vol 114. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2241-4_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2241-4_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8390-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2241-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive