A Three-Dimensional Perspective on Extratropical Cyclone Impacts

Pepler, Acacia; Dowdy, Andrew J.

doi:10.1175/jcli-d-19-0445.1

Cited by 18 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Both these cyclone identification methods have been applied solely to SLP, which is the level most likely to be associated with heavy rainfall when tracking on a single level (Pepler and Dowdy 2020). However, many of the most impactful cyclones in southern Australia have a stronger signature in the upper levels of the atmosphere, and may have only weak cyclone development on the surface (Dowdy et al 2011;Risbey et al 2013).…”

Section: Cyclones (Low Pressure Systems)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The contributions of fronts, lows and thunderstorms to southern Australian rainfall

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A systematic analysis of the main weather types influencing southern Australian rainfall is presented for the period 1979–2015. This incorporates two multi-method datasets of cold fronts and low pressure systems, which indicate the more robust fronts and lows as distinguished from the weaker and less impactful events that are often indicated only by a single method. The front and low pressure system datasets are then combined with a dataset of environmental conditions associated with thunderstorms, as well as datasets of warm fronts and high pressure systems. The results demonstrate that these weather types collectively account for about 86% of days and more than 98% of rainfall in Australia south of 25° S. We also show how the key rain-bearing weather systems vary throughout the year and for different regions, with the co-occurrence of simultaneous lows, fronts and thunderstorm conditions particularly important during the spring and summer months in southeast Australia.

show abstract

Section: Cyclones (Low Pressure Systems)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The contributions of fronts, lows and thunderstorms to southern Australian rainfall

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A deep understanding of this kind of cyclone had been reached after a large number of studies were conducted. However, as a type of three-dimensional cyclone system (Pepler and Dowdy, 2020), thus far, there are few studies focus on its vertical extension.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the vertical extending of the explosive extratropical cyclone: A case study

Jiang

Dong

et al. 2021

Atmospheric Science Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Explosive extratropical cyclone (EEC) is the main disastrous weather system over the ocean and offshore areas in the cold season. As a type of vertically deep system, after decades of studies, key features of EECs' vertical extents still remain vague. Based on a reasonably simulated entire-troposphere-thick EEC, this study analyzes variation of the EEC's vertical extent and investigates governing mechanisms for its vertical extending. Main findings are as follows:(a) the EEC's vertical extent showed consistent variation features with its central sea level pressure and lower-level vorticity (correlation coefficients were $0.9), whereas its relationship with EEC's maximum surface wind was not significant; (b) EEC's upward extending featured strong ascending motion and rapid cyclonic-vorticity enhancement at the top level of the cyclone and obvious inflow (convergence) in the lower troposphere. (c) vorticity budget at the

show abstract

“…Currently available algorithms mostly track atmospheric events broadly across the globe using mean sea level pressure (MSLP), geostrophic vorticity, geopotential heights, potential and relative vorticity, singly or in combination (Picornell et al ., 2001; Jansa et al ., 2001; Trigo et al ., 1999; Hanson et al ., 2004; Hoskins and Hodges, 2005; Flocas et al ., 2010; Kouroutzoglou et al ., 2012). The most frequent variables used are local minima in MSLP or maxima or minima in vorticity (depending on hemisphere) at a single geopotential height or pressure level (Pepler and Dowdy, 2020; Walker et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because cyclones can have diverse characteristics and evolution at various levels, a single‐level analysis will affect the climate statistics and conclusions derived from such algorithms. Despite the fact that the vertical structure of a system is known to play a major role in its development and impacts (Pepler and Dowdy, 2020), most of the analyses typically focus on cyclones identified at a single atmospheric level and in events close to the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pepler and Dowdy (2020) based on the results of Lim and Simmonds (2007) and using mean sea level pressure (MSLP) from ERA‐Interim reanalysis data, carried out a study of the global distribution of cyclones at six vertical levels to analyse how the frequency of deep or well‐organized events varies around the world, with a focus on south eastern Australia. They found that about 50% of global cyclones show a coherent vertical structure extending to at least 500 hPa, while shallow cyclones are most common in the global midlatitudes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Early 21st Century cyclone climatology: a 3D perspective.Basic Characterization

Lakkis

Canziani

Rodriguez

et al. 2021

Intl Journal of Climatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Extra‐tropical cyclones are a relevant feature in the climate at middle and high latitudes. Despite their importance, most studies typically focus only on cyclones identified at a single atmospheric level and on events close to the surface. This paper provides a new perspective on the Southern Hemisphere (SH) cyclone events based on the multilevel cyclone tracking algorithm STACKER. The algorithm, using relative vorticity, detects the raw tracks at single levels and objectively combines them to provide the 3D events and their evolutionary timeline. As a result, a 3D cyclone climatology, based on ECMWF Reanalysis ERA‐I data from 12 pressure levels in the troposphere and lowermost stratosphere is presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis carried out throughout the troposphere and the lowermost extratropical/subpolar stratosphere in order to give a comprehensive picture of the cyclone events as physical entities throughout their lifetime. Cyclone properties analysed are track densities, translational velocity, vorticity and lifetimes. For the subtropical and extra‐tropical SH, results support many previous ideas about cyclone characteristics, but new insights are also obtained. A total of 58,231 multilevel cyclone events lasting at least 2 days were detected, with vertical structures spanning two or more levels. This means an average of 303 cyclone events of all types per month, between 2001 and 2017, disregarding seasonality. Results show that cyclones are most frequently detected at the lowest levels of 925 and 700 hPa. By considering that cyclonic systems can be grouped into families according to their vertical extent, results per month on average show that shallow systems are the most frequent events with approximately 248 systems detected, followed by 43 intermediary and 11 deep events. Shallow and deep systems have a large percentage of events with genesis at 925 and 700 hPa. Density statistics show that shallow events are present at all latitude ranges mostly poleward of 30°S with high‐ and medium‐intensities, while intermediate ones are mostly restricted to mid‐latitudes and deep events are mostly confined to sub‐polar and polar latitudes. Cyclones over Antarctica seem to be mostly intermediary and deep cyclones, with longer lifetimes and lower velocities.

show abstract

A Three-Dimensional Perspective on Extratropical Cyclone Impacts

Cited by 18 publications

References 57 publications

The contributions of fronts, lows and thunderstorms to southern Australian rainfall

The contributions of fronts, lows and thunderstorms to southern Australian rainfall

On the vertical extending of the explosive extratropical cyclone: A case study

Early 21st Century cyclone climatology: a 3D perspective.Basic Characterization

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About