During extratropical transition (ET), tropical cyclones exert a significant impact on the midlatitude circulation. Archetypical features of this impact are jet streak formation, amplification of the downstream trough, and modification of the associated downstream cyclogenesis. This study investigates the relative importance of the jet streak and the upper-level trough for cyclone development by quantifying the respective contributions to midtropospheric vertical motion using the Q-vector partitioning by J. C. Jusem and R. Atlas. Their framework is here extended from quasigeostrophic theory to alternative balance. The Q vector under alternative balance involves the nondivergent wind, instead of the geostrophic wind, and therefore represents more accurately the balanced dynamics associated with vertical motion, in particular downstream of ET where the flow often exhibits significant curvature associated with the amplified trough. An idealized ET scenario and three real cases, the cyclones downstream of Hanna (2008), Choi-wan (2008), and Jangmi (2009), are analyzed. In all cases, the trough plays a prominent role in cyclone development. The jet streak plays a prominent, favorable role in the idealized ET scenario and downstream of Hanna. In contrast, the role of the jet streak downstream of Choi-wan is clearly of secondary importance. Interestingly, downstream of Jangmi the jet streak has a prominent but detrimental impact. It is concluded that amplified jet streaks associated with ET have the potential to be of significant importance for downstream cyclone development. The few cases considered in this study, however, point to a large case-to-case variability of the role of the jet streak.

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