325 CH A P T E R 1 2

F I G U R E 1 2 .1 1 (a) As the polar jet stream and its area of maximum winds (the jet streak, or core) swings over a
developing mid-latitude cyclone, an area of divergence (D) draws warm surface air upward, and an area of convergence (C)
allows cold air to sink. The jet stream removes air above the surface storm, which causes surface pressures to drop and the
storm to intensify. (b) When the surface storm moves northeastward and occludes, it no longer has the upper-level support of
diverging air, and the surface storm gradually dies out.

In general, we now have a fairly good picture as to why However, even if initially there are no fronts on the surface map, they may
begin to form where air masses having contrasting properties are brought
some surface lows intensify into huge mid-latitude cyclones
together in the region where the surface air rises and the surrounding air ows
while others do not. For a surface cyclonic storm to intensify, inward.
there must be an upper-level counterpart a trough of low
pressure that lies to the west of the surface low. As short-
waves disturb the ow aloft, they cause regions of differential
temperature advection to appear, leading to an intensica-
tion of the upper-level trough. At the same time, the polar jet
forms into waves and swings slightly south of the developing
storm. When these conditions exist, zones of converging and
diverging air, along with rising and sinking air, provide en-
ergy conversions for the storms growth. With this atmo-
spheric situation, storms may form even where there are no
pre-existing fronts.* In regions where the upper-level ow is
not disturbed by shortwaves or where no upper trough or jet
stream exists, the necessary vertical and horizontal motions
are insufcient to enhance cyclonic storm development and
we say that the surface storm does not have the proper upper-
air support. The horizontal and vertical motions, cloud pat-
terns, and weather that typically occur with a developing
open-wave cyclone are summarized in Fig. 12.12.

CONVEYOR BELT MODEL OF MID-LATITUDE CYCLONES A

three-dimensional model of a developing mid-latitude cy-
clone is illustrated in Fig. 12.13. The model describes
rising and sinking air as traveling along three main conveyor
belts. Just as people ride escalators to higher levels in a
department

*It is interesting to note that the beginning stage of a wave cyclone almost always
takes place when an area of upper-level divergence passes over a surface front.
326 CH A P T E R 1 2
store, so air glides along through a constantly evolving mid-
latitude cyclone. According to the conveyor belt model, a
warm air stream (known as the warm conveyor belt orange
arrow in Fig. 12.13) originates at the surface in the warm sec-
tor, ahead of the cold front. As the warm air stream moves
northward, it slowly rises along the sloping warm front, up
and over the cold air below. As the rising air cools, water va-
por condenses, and clouds form well out ahead of the surface
low and its surface warm front. From these clouds, steady
precipitation usually falls in the form of rain or snow. Aloft,
the warm air ow gradually turns toward the northeast, par-
allel to the upper-level winds.
Directly below the warm conveyor belt, a cold, relatively
dry airstream the cold conveyor belt moves slowly west-
ward (see Fig. 12.13). As the air moves west ahead of the
warm front, precipitation and surface moisture evaporates
into the cold air, making it moist. As the cold, moist airstream
moves into the vicinity of the surface low, rising air gradually
forces the cold conveyor belt upward. As the cold, moist air
sweeps northwest of the surface low, it often brings heavy
winter snowfalls to this region of the cyclone. The rising air-
stream usually turns counterclockwise, around the surface
low, rst heading south, then northeastward, when it gets
caught in the upper air ow. It is the counterclockwise turn-
ing of the cold conveyor belt that produces the comma-
shaped cloud similar to the one shown in Fig. 12.14.
The last conveyor belt is a dry one that forms in the cold,
very dry region of the upper troposphere. Called the dry
conveyor belt, and shaded yellow in Fig. 12.13, this airstream
slowly descends from the northwest behind the surface cold
front, where it brings generally clear, dry weather and, occa-
sionally, blustery winds. If a branch of the dry air sweeps into
the storm, it produces a clear area called a dry slot, which ap-
327 CH A P T E R 1 2

F I G U R E 1 2 .1 2
Summary of clouds, weather, vertical
motions, and upper-air support
associated with a developing mid-
latitude cyclone.

pears to pinch off the comma clouds head from its tail. This
phenomenon tends to show up on satellite images as the mid-
latitude storm becomes more fully developed (see Fig. 12.14).
We are now in a position to tie together many of the
concepts we have learned about developing mid-latitude cy-
clones by examining a monstrous storm that formed during
March, 1993.

F I G U R E 1 2 .1 3 The conveyor belt model of a developing

mid-latitude cyclone. The warm conveyor belt (in orange)

rises along the warm front, causing clouds and precipitation to

cover a vast area. The cold conveyor belt (in blue) slowly rises as it
carries cold, moist air westward ahead of the warm front but
under the rising warm air. The cold conveyor belt lifts rapidly and
wraps counterclockwise around the center of the surface low. The
dry conveyor belt (in yellow) brings very dry, cold air downward
from the upper troposphere.
 328 CH A P T E R 1 2
A DEVELOPING MID-LATITUDE CYCLONE THE
MARCH STORM OF 1993 A color-enhanced infrared
satellite image of a developing mid-latitude cyclone on
the morning of March 13, 1993, is shown in Fig. 12.15.
Notice that its cloud band is in the shape of a comma that
covers the entire eastern seaboard. Such comma clouds
indicate that the storm is still developing and
intensifying. But this storm is not an ordi- nary wave
cyclone this storm intensied into a superstorm, which
some forecasters dubbed the storm of the century.
The surface weather map for the morning of March
13 (see Fig. 12.16) shows that the center of the open
wave is over northern Florida. Observe in Fig. 12.15 that
this posi- tion is in the head of the comma cloud. The
central pressure of the storm is 975 mb (28.79 in.), which
indicates an incred- ibly deep system, considering a typical
open wave would have a central pressure closer to 996 mb
(29.41 in.). A strong cold front stretches from the
storms center through western Florida. Behind the
front, cold arctic air pours into the Deep South. Ahead of
the advancing front, a band of heavy thun- derstorms
(along a squall line) is pounding Florida with
329 CH A P T E R 1 2
NOAA
F I G U R E 1 2 .1 4 Visible satellite image of a mature mid-latitude
cyclone with the three conveyor belts superimposed on the storm. As in
Fig. 12.13, the warm conveyor belt is in orange, the cold conveyor belt is
in blue, and the dry conveyor belt (forming the dry slot) is in yellow.
heavy rain, high winds, and tornadoes. Warm humid air in
the warm sector is streaming northward, overrunning cold
surface air ahead of the warm front, which is causing pre-
cipitation in the form of rain, snow, and sleet to fall over a
vast area extending from Florida to New York.
F I G U R E 1 2 .1 5 A color-enhanced infrared satellite image that
shows a developing mid-latitude cyclone at 2 a.m. (EST) on March 13,
1993. The darkest shades represent clouds with the coldest and highest
tops. The dark cloud band moving through Florida represents a line of
severe thunderstorms. Notice that the cloud pattern is in the shape of a
comma.
The 500-mb chart for the morning of March 13 (see
Fig. 12.17) shows that a deep trough extending
southward out of Canada lies to the west of the surface low. A
baroclinic atmosphere exists around the trough as
isotherms intersect contour lines and strong winds produce
differential tempera-
F I G U R E 1 2 .1 6 Surface
weather map for 4 a.m (EST) on
March 13,
330 CH A P T E R 1 2
1993. Lines on the map are isobars. A
reading of 96 is 996 mb and a reading
of 00 is 1000 mb. (To obtain the
proper pressure in millibars, place a 9
before those readings between 80 and

96, and place a 10 before those read-

ings of 00 or higher.) Green shaded
areas are receiving precipitation. Heavy
arrows represent surface winds. The
orange arrow represents warm, humid
air; the light blue arrow, cold, moist

air; and the dark blue arrow, cold,

arctic air.
331 CH A P T E R 1 2

F I G U R E 1 2 .1 7 The 500-mb chart for 7 a.m. (EST) March 13, 1993. Solid lines are contours where 564 equals 5640
meters. Dashed lines are isotherms in C. Wind entries in red show warm advection. Those in blue show cold advection. Those in
black indicate no appreciable temperature advection is occurring.

ture advection. Notice that warm advection (indicated by red
barbs) is occurring on the troughs eastern side, ahead of the
surface warm front shown in Fig. 12.16. Cold advection (in-
dicated by blue barbs) is occurring on the troughs western
side, behind the position of the surface cold front. As tem-
perature advection deepens the trough, rising and sinking air
provide energy for the developing surface storm.
In Fig. 12.18, we can see that the storm began on
March
332 CH A P T E R 1 2
12 as a frontal wave off the Texas coast. In the upper air, a
shortwave, moving rapidly around a longwave, disturbed the
ow, setting up the necessary ingredients for the surface
storms development. By the morning of March 13, the storm
had intensied into a deep open-wave cyclone centered over
Florida. In the upper air, a region of diverging air positioned
above the storm caused the storms surface pressures to drop
rapidly. Upper-level southwesterly winds (Fig. 12.17) directed
the surface low northeastward, where it became occluded
over Virginia during the afternoon of March 13. At this point,
the storms central pressure dropped to an incredibly low
960 mb (28.35 in.), a pressure comparable to a Category 3
hurricane.* Although the surface winds were quite strong
and gusty, they were not as strong as those in a Category 3
*As we will see in Chapter 15, a pressure of 960 mb is equivalent to the pressure in
a Category 3 hurricane on the Safr-Simpson scale, which ranges from 1 to 5, with
5 being the strongest.
hurricane because the isobars around the storm were spread
farther apart than those in a hurricane and because surface
friction slowed the winds. Higher up, away from the inu-
ence of the surface, the winds were much stronger as a wind
of 125 knots was reported at the top of 1900-meter-high
Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
The upper trough remained to the west of the surface
low, and the storm continued its northeastward movement.
In Fig. 12.18, we can see that by the morning of March 14 the
storm (which was now a deep, bentback occluded system)
had weakened slightly and was centered along the coast of
Maine. Moving out from under its area of upper-level diver-
gence, the storm weakened even more as it continued its
northeastward journey, out over the North Atlantic. In all,
the storm was one of the strongest ever. It blanketed deep
snow from Alabama to Canada. Fierce winds piled the snow
WEATHE R W AT C H
The great March storm of 1993 set record low barometric pressure
readings in a dozen states, produced wind gusts exceeding
90 knots from New England to Florida, and deposited 50 billion
tons of snow over the east coast of the United States. When
melted, this quantity of snow yielded enough water to equal the
ow over Niagara Falls for 100 days.