A discussion on the existence of the anomalous high and the anomalous low

Abstract

Abstract. The air flow in a three-way balance between the Coriolis force, the centrifugal force and the pressure gradient force, i.e., the gradient wind, is discussed. The author studies formation mechanisms and possible existence of four types of gradient wind (the normal high, the normal low, the anomalous high and the anomalous low), and proposes reasonable explanation of the evolution of the gradient wind, especially for the anomalous high and the anomalous low, both of which are considered to be pure mathematical solutions and are overlooked in classic literature.

Gradient Winds and Neutral Flow Dawn‐Dusk Asymmetry in the Auroral Oval During Geomagnetically Disturbed Conditions

“…The wind speeds are generally small enough, however, so that the balanced solutions are limited to the normal cyclonic and anticyclonic gradient wind solutions. The anomalous solutions, if they exist, are much less common, but a series of papers for well over half a century have argued that they can occur in the troposphere in special circumstances (Alaka, 1961; Brill, 2014; Cohen et al., 2017; Fultz, 1991; Godson, 1949; Gustafson, 1953; Knox & Ohmann, 2006; Krishnamurti et al., 2005; N. Li, 2015; T. Li et al., 2017; Mogil & Holle, 1972; Willoughby, 2011). The requirement for making the anomalous solutions viable is a large sustained forcing that can push the winds past the 2 V geo limit.…”