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Understanding Air Masses and Fronts: Analysis and Diagnoses

Learn about air mass characteristics, front identification, and complex cases in weather systems with practical examples. Explore lapse rates and boundary interactions for a thorough understanding.

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Understanding Air Masses and Fronts: Analysis and Diagnoses

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  1. Lecture 20: Air masses & fronts (Ch 9) • conditions under which ELR approximates DALR or SALR • trying to locate surface fronts – example of guidance from 850 mb map • a look at a complex case where pressure field shows distinct influences of a mid-lat. storm and a lee trough - difficult or impossible to detect surface fronts • any spare time - questions

  2. Conditions under which actual lapse rate (ELR) approximates DALR or SALR 925-720 mb layer “neutral w.r.t. unsaturated adiabatic motion” (well-mixed) “well-mixed” implies QH=0 700-500 mb layer “neutral w.r.t. saturated adiabatic motion” (well-mixed)

  3. Fig. 9-4 Fig. 9-10 Fig. 9-4 warm air cut off from the surface by the meeting of two cold fronts

  4. Can we diagnose fronts associated with this Manitoba storm? 12 hr motion ? Hudson’s Bay (data sparse) (ice?) ? The red dots are points of reference 00Z, 23 April 2006

  5. Can we diagnose fronts associated with this Manitoba storm? The red dots are points of reference warm frontal surface slopes up to N? cold frontal surface slopes up to W? 00Z, 23 April 2006

  6. Would/could you diagnose a front (or fronts) associated with this N. Alberta storm? very cold cold • plenty of contrast in: • T • wind dir’n • p trend • + well defined troughs mild Tight gradient – Chinook winds CMC surface analysis, 12Z Nov 28, 2003. Storm trough through C. and NE. Ab, plus wind induced lee trough in the SW complicating pattern; wind warning for SW Ab.

  7. Alberta Lee Trough • when wind impinges on an obstacle, no matter what the scale of the obstacle, one usually sees a pressure drop from upwind side to downwind side, ie. relatively low pressure in the wake (or lee) of the obstacle. • thus on the synoptic scale when a strong wind impinges on a mountain barrier, the consequence may be the development of a trough of low pressure in the lee (the strong pressure gradient associated with this trough goes hand in hand with the strong Chinook type wind) • sometimes a closed surface low forms in/from the lee trough… name for this event is "Lee Cyclogenesis'' • the fact that the lee trough phenomenon is occurring complicates the interpretation of this low

  8. SW current aloft across Rockies (associated with coastal trough) • trough of warm air aloft (trowal) • drier in the trowal as well • trowal is signature of adiabatic compression of descending current CMC 700 mb analysis, 12Z Nov 28, 2003.

  9. break in the high cloud in lee of Alberta Rockies is sign of adiabatic compression of descending current 17Z Nov 28, 2003.

  10. trough of warm air aloft (trowal) • isotherms helpful in thinking about fronts ?? CMC 850 mb analysis, 12Z Nov 28, 2003

  11. Impossible to place surface fronts on basis of classic signs… in case of doubt, pointless to insist they exist… very cold cold mild CMC surface analysis, 12Z Nov 28, 2003

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