Extratropical Cyclones: Their Mesoscale Structure, Precipitation and Role in the Transport of Water

Stewart, Ronald E.

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-03289-3_6

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In these calculations the sublimation of falling snow was the main factor in lowering the efficiency. Stewart [1996] and also found that precipitation efficiency varied with initial temperature and relative humidity conditions. There was a general decrease in precipitation efficiency with decreasing low level moisture supply due to the enhanced relative role of sublimation in the drier situations.…”

Section: Moisture Budgets and Precipitation Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The compositing technique has been described by Le and Bussieres [1994]. Adapted from Stewart [1996]; copyright Springer-Verlag. tive assessment of their overall "climatology" and character, but a simple comparison between actual conditions and climate model simulations can still be carried out for the purposes of this article.…”

Section: Observations and Climate Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To begin to quantify some of the water budget considerations for cyclonic systems, some simple two-dimensional numerical simulations of warm frontal regions have been carried out [Stewart, 1996]. Idealized but typical synoptic-scale forcing was used to initialize the model, stable conditions were assumed, and relative humidity decreased with height; illustrative steady state temperature, dynamic, and cloud fields are shown in Figure 13.…”

Section: Moisture Budgets and Precipitation Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the ice crystals generated aloft within a cloud containing moisture from the Gulf of Alaska were able to pass through a dry layer (as observed with aircraft) to initiate precipitation growth within a low cloud containing moisture from the Arctic Ocean. Adapted fromStewart [1996]; copyright Springer-Verlag.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Midlatitude cyclonic cloud systems and their features affecting large scales and climate

Stewart¹,

Szeto²,

Reinking³

et al. 1998

Reviews of Geophysics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Midlatitude cyclonic cloud systems are common occurrences that significantly impact our climate. In this review, attention is paid to those physical characteristics of these cloud systems with large-scale impacts that must be accounted for in climate simulations. Such attributes include atmospheric forcing, internal structure, surface influences, cloud layering, microphysics, precipitation, water cycling, and radiation. Because of their present limitations associated with, for example, grid sizes and simplified parameterizations, climate models cannot account for all the crucial impacts of these cloud systems. Future advances in the representation of these systems within climate models will need to rely in part on rigorous assessments of model capabilities in a variety of conditions. system. They contribute substantially to global and regional water and energy cycles because of organized vertical motions and latent heat exchanges occurring within the clouds, thereby redistributing and altering the vertical profiles of momentum and moisture. These clouds account for a major fraction of the precipitation (and therefore atmospheric heating) in midlatitudes, and they are associated with some of the main avenues for the latitudinal transport of moisture through the atmosphere [e.g., Lambert, 1988]. These cloud systems also account for a substantial portion of the large-scale cloud radiative forcing found in the midlatitudes. This is due in part to the production of high-level clouds [Wylie and Menzel, 1989;Wild et al., 1995] and to the enhanced cloud water path that occurs in association with these systems. In addition, the interaction of these layer cloud systems with orography often leads to enhanced clouds and precipitation. Because mountains are the source regions for many of the world's rivers, the role of orography in affecting the small-scale distributions (<20 km) of precipitation from these clouds is a critical problem IReinking, 1995]. Air-sea interaction is also important; deep water formation in the North Atlantic (and possibly other areas) may be enhanced through the associated cold air outbreaks linked with these cloud systems. The generation of the downward convection in these bodies of water represents a major aspect of the global oceanographic circulation [Webster, 1994].Global climate prediction models simulate some of the coarse characteristics of these cloud systems [e.g., Lambert, 1995], but they do not account for finer details [Bengtsson, 1995]. For example, McFarlane et al. [1992] showed that current models display a midlatitude peak in precipitation associated with these systems, though The purpose of this article is to summarize some of the current understanding of clouds associated with midlatitude cyclonic storms, with a focus on the processes and phenomena associated with them that can affect climate. The article brings together many recent developments in the study of these systems and relates these to their large-scale impact. It is intended that this article will draw the ...

show abstract

Section: Moisture Budgets and Precipitation Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Observations and Climate Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Moisture Budgets and Precipitation Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Midlatitude cyclonic cloud systems and their features affecting large scales and climate

Stewart¹,

Szeto²,

Reinking³

et al. 1998

Reviews of Geophysics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There are many ways of estimating the PE depending on the method used to determine the available moisture. These include estimates of total column water vapor (Lutz, 1977; Stewart, 1996), condensation rate (Ferrier et al., 1996; Hobbs et al., 1980), moisture inflow (MFC) (Browning & Harrold, 1970), total column water vapor plus MFC (Guo et al., 2015), and evaporation plus MFC (Li et al., 2002). The range of methods and variation in accumulation periods makes comparison between studies difficult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation Efficiencies in a Climatology of Southern Ocean Extratropical Cyclones

Dacre,

Martinez‐Alvarado,

Hodges

2023

JGR Atmospheres

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Precipitation efficiency refers to the amount of water that is lost from the atmosphere through precipitation compared to the available water vapor in the atmosphere. This metric plays a critical role in understanding precipitation patterns. However, calculating precipitation efficiency for extratropical cyclones can be challenging because cyclones are dynamic and move through the atmosphere as they evolve. To overcome this challenge, our study uses ERA5 reanalysis data to estimate precipitation efficiencies for 400 Southern Ocean cyclones, with a frame of reference that moves with the individual cyclones. Our findings indicate that at maximum intensity, average precipitation efficiencies reach a maximum of 60%/6 hr near the warm front where ascent rates are the largest. Typically, within 24–36 hr after cyclogenesis, all of the initial water vapor available within 500 km of a cyclone center is lost due to precipitation. However, a cyclone's precipitating phase is prolonged due to local evaporation and moisture flux convergence (MFC), which replenish the moisture lost via precipitation. Close to the cyclone center, MFC provides additional moisture from the environment into which cyclones are traveling. On average, this extends a cyclone's precipitation phase to over 60 hr after cyclogenesis. Thus, while moisture from the genesis location is quickly removed from the cyclone via precipitation, cyclones are replenished by moisture along their track, which doubles the timescale for a cyclone's precipitating phase.

show abstract

Extratropical Cyclones: Their Mesoscale Structure, Precipitation and Role in the Transport of Water

Cited by 2 publications

References 35 publications

Midlatitude cyclonic cloud systems and their features affecting large scales and climate

Midlatitude cyclonic cloud systems and their features affecting large scales and climate

Precipitation Efficiencies in a Climatology of Southern Ocean Extratropical Cyclones

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About