Role of the Low-Frequency Deformation Field on the Explosive Growth of Extratropical Cyclones at the Jet Exit. Part II: Baroclinic Critical Region

Abstract

Midlatitude cyclones tend to develop strongly in specific locations relative to the large-scale flow, such as jet-exit zones. Here, the approach developed in Part I that highlights the role of large-scale deformation in constraining the location of such events is continued. The atmospheric flow is decomposed into a high- and low-frequency part separating large and synoptic scales. A new low-frequency diagnostic has been introduced, called effective deformation ?m. It is defined as σ2m ? ?2m, where σm is the low-frequency deformation magnitude and ?m is the low-frequency vorticity. While Part I focused on large-scale conditions inducing an intermediate phase of barotropic growth, the present paper concentrates on other configurations that rather prevent this phase from happening. This large-scale circulation is characterized by the presence of a strong zonal upper-level jet and a lower-level jet that are meridionally quite far from each other over the Atlantic but close to one another in the eastern Atlantic region. As high-frequency disturbances are trapped by the effective deformation of the low-frequency jets, the increasing closeness of the two jets associated with that of the two effective deformation fields computed in the lower and upper levels defines a region called the baroclinic critical region where upper high-frequency disturbances and surface cyclones may strongly interact baroclinically. The increased baroclinic energy collection resulting from this constrained configuration change is outlined. An analysis of the explosive growth of the Christmas wind storms of 1999 and of mid-December 2004 provides different realizations of this configuration and associated mechanism.