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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

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Selected Works

2018

Cold air surges

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Synoptic Typing Of Extreme Cool-Season Precipitation Events At St. John's, Newfoundland, 1979-2005, Shawn M. Milrad, Eyad H. Atallah, John R. Gyakum Jun 2018

Synoptic Typing Of Extreme Cool-Season Precipitation Events At St. John's, Newfoundland, 1979-2005, Shawn M. Milrad, Eyad H. Atallah, John R. Gyakum

Shawn M. Milrad

Quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF) continues to be a significant challenge in operational forecasting, particularly in regions susceptible to extreme precipitation events. St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (CYYT), is affected frequently by such events, particularly in the cool season (October–April).

The 50 median events in the extreme (>33.78 mm during a 48-h period) precipitation event category are selected for further analysis. A manual synoptic typing is performed on these 50 events, using two separate methodologies to partition events. The first method utilizes a Lagrangian backward air parcel trajectory analysis and the second method utilizes the evolution of dynamically relevant variables, including …


A Thermodynamic Analysis Of An Intense North American Arctic Air Mass, Jessica K. Turner, John Gyakum, Shawn M. Milrad Jun 2018

A Thermodynamic Analysis Of An Intense North American Arctic Air Mass, Jessica K. Turner, John Gyakum, Shawn M. Milrad

Shawn M. Milrad

Northwestern Canada is a genesis region of arctic air masses often considered to be formed primarily through radiative processes. However, the details of their life cycle are poorly understood. This paper examines the formation, maintenance, and dissipation of an intense and long-lived arctic air mass, using a thermodynamic budget analysis.

The airmass formation is characterized by a deep-layer, multistage process that begins with snow falling into a nascent air mass. Radiative cooling from cloud tops begins the process. After the snow abates and clear skies are observed, the surface temperature drops rapidly, aided by the high emissivity of fresh snow …