Summary
The authors perform an exploratory analysis on the effect of the timing of the stratospheric vortex breakup in the occurrence of cut-off low systems (COLs) in the Northern Hemisphere. The first multidecadal Northern Hemisphere COLs database (Nieto et al, 2005) covering a 41 year-long period (1958–1998) was used in the analysis. The dates of stratospheric vortex breakup were obtained using two different approaches recently purposed in literature based in potential vorticity and zonal winds. An analysis of differences of COLs occurrences for the five earlier (later) breakup years showed that, at latitudes lower than 45° N, COLs are more frequent for earlier vortex years during the following spring and summer. The monthly analysis showed that, in general, the significant differences start in May lasting until September, being especially relevant for the European sector, the area with the highest rates of COLs occurrence in the Northern Hemisphere.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
RX Black BA McDaniel WA Robinson (2006) ArticleTitleStratosphere-troposphere coupling during spring onset J Climate 19 4891–4901 Occurrence Handle10.1175/JCLI3907.1
DR Cayan SA Kammerdiener MD Dettinger JM Caprio DH Peterson (2001) ArticleTitleChanges in the onset of spring in the western United States Bull Am Met Soc 82 399–415 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0477(2001)082<0399:CITOOS>2.3.CO;2
PH Haynes (2005) ArticleTitleStratospheric dynamics Ann Rev Fluid Mech 37 263–293 Occurrence Handle10.1146/annurev.fluid.37.061903.175710
J Holton P Haynes M McIntyre A Douglas R Rood L Pfister (1995) ArticleTitleStratosphere-troposphere exchange Rev Geophys 33 403–439 Occurrence Handle10.1029/95RG02097
A Karpetchko E Kyro BM Knudsen (2005) ArticleTitleArctic and Antarctic polar vortices 1957–2002 as seen from the ERA-40 reanalysis J Geophys Res 110 D21109 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2005JD006113
AS Kentarchos GJ Roelofs J Lelieveld E Cuevas (2000) ArticleTitleOn the origin of elevated surface ozone concentration at Izaña observatory during the last days of March 1996: A model study Geophys Res Lett 27 3699–3702 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000GL011518
BM Knudsen SB Andersen (2001) ArticleTitleLongitudinal variation in springtime ozone trends Nature 413 699–700 Occurrence Handle10.1038/35099677
BM Knudsen WA Lahoz A O’Neill JJ Morcrette (1998) ArticleTitleEvidence for a substantial role for dilution in northern mid-latitude ozone depletion Geophys Res Lett 25 4501–4504 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1998GL900215
ER Nash PA Newman JE Rosenfield M Schoeberl (1996) ArticleTitleAn objective determination of the polar vortex using Ertel’s potential vorticity J Geophys Res 101 9471–9478 Occurrence Handle10.1029/96JD00066
PA Newman ER Nash JE Rosenfield (2001) ArticleTitleWhat controls the temperature of the Arctic stratosphere during the spring? J Geophys Res 106 19999–20010 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000JD000061
R Nieto L Gimeno L de la Torre P Ribera D Gallego R García-Herrera JA García M Nuñez A Redaño J Lorente (2005) ArticleTitleClimatological features of cut-off low systems in the Northern Hemisphere J Climate 18 2805–2823 Occurrence Handle10.1175/JCLI3386.1
Palmén E, Newton CW (1969) Atmospheric circulation systems: their structure and physical interpretation. Academic Press, 603 pp
F Porcù C Caracciolo F Prodi (2003) ArticleTitleCloud systems leading to flood events in Europe: an overview and classification Meteor Appl 10 217–228 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S1350482703003025
JD Price G Vaughan (1992) ArticleTitleStatistical studies of cut off-low systems Ann Geophys 10 96–102
GJ Tripoli CM Medaglia SM Dietrich A Mugnai G Panegrossi S Pinori EA Smith (2005) ArticleTitleThe 9–10 November 2001 Algerian flood: A numerical study Bull Am Met Soc 86 1229–1235 Occurrence Handle10.1175/BAMS-86-9-1229
XJ Wang JR Key (2003) ArticleTitleRecent trends in arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties from space Science 299 1725–1728 Occurrence Handle10.1126/science.1078065
DW Waugh WJ Randel (1999) ArticleTitleClimatology of arctic and Antarctic polar vortices using elliptical diagnosis J Atmos Sci 56 1594–1613 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0469(1999)056<1594:COAAAP>2.0.CO;2
DW Waugh PP Rong (2002) ArticleTitleInterannual variability in the decay of lower stratospheric arctic vortices J Meteor Soc Japan 80 997–1012 Occurrence Handle10.2151/jmsj.80.997
Winkler R and coauthors (2005) Manual of synoptic satellite meteorology: Conceptual models, vers. 5.3 [Available from Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Hohe Warte 38, 1190 Vienna, Austria.]
ST Zhou ME Gelman AJ Miller JP McCormack (2000) ArticleTitleAn inter-hemisphere comparison of the persistent stratospheric polar vortex Geophys Res Lett 27 1123–1126 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999GL011018
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gimeno, L., Nieto, R. & Trigo, R. Decay of the Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex and the occurrence of cut-off low systems: An exploratory study. Meteorol. Atmos. Phys. 96, 21–28 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-006-0218-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-006-0218-3