Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Sensitivity of Midlatitude Storm Intensification to Perturbations in the Sea Surface Temperature near the Gulf Stream

James F. Booth Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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LuAnne Thompson School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Jérôme Patoux Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Kathryn A. Kelly Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 2012
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00195.1
Page(s):
1241–1256
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Abstract

The Gulf Stream region is a primary location for midlatitude storm cyclogenesis and growth. However, the influence of sea surface temperature (SST) on storms in the region is still under question, particularly after a storm has developed. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, a storm that intensified as it transited northward across the Gulf Stream is simulated multiple times using different SST boundary conditions. These experiments test the storm response to changes in both the absolute value of the SST and the meridional SST gradient. Across the different simulations, the storm strength increases monotonically with the magnitude of the SST perturbations, even when the perturbations weaken the SST gradient. The storm response to the SST perturbations is driven by the latent heat release in the storm warm conveyor belt (WCB). During the late stages of development, the surface fluxes under the storm warm sector regulate the supply of heat and moisture to the WCB. This allows the surface fluxes to govern late-stage intensification and control the storm SST sensitivity. The storm warm front also responds to the SST perturbations; however, the response is independent of that of the storm central pressure. These modeling results suggest that the SST beneath the storm can have just as important a role as the SST gradients in local forcing of the storm.

Current affiliation: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of Columbia, New York, New York.

Corresponding author address: James F. Booth, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of Columbia, 200 S. W. Mudd Building, MC 4701, 500 W 120th St., New York, NY 10027. E-mail: jfb2130@columbia.edu

Abstract

The Gulf Stream region is a primary location for midlatitude storm cyclogenesis and growth. However, the influence of sea surface temperature (SST) on storms in the region is still under question, particularly after a storm has developed. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, a storm that intensified as it transited northward across the Gulf Stream is simulated multiple times using different SST boundary conditions. These experiments test the storm response to changes in both the absolute value of the SST and the meridional SST gradient. Across the different simulations, the storm strength increases monotonically with the magnitude of the SST perturbations, even when the perturbations weaken the SST gradient. The storm response to the SST perturbations is driven by the latent heat release in the storm warm conveyor belt (WCB). During the late stages of development, the surface fluxes under the storm warm sector regulate the supply of heat and moisture to the WCB. This allows the surface fluxes to govern late-stage intensification and control the storm SST sensitivity. The storm warm front also responds to the SST perturbations; however, the response is independent of that of the storm central pressure. These modeling results suggest that the SST beneath the storm can have just as important a role as the SST gradients in local forcing of the storm.

Current affiliation: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of Columbia, New York, New York.

Corresponding author address: James F. Booth, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, University of Columbia, 200 S. W. Mudd Building, MC 4701, 500 W 120th St., New York, NY 10027. E-mail: jfb2130@columbia.edu
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