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Coastal Meteorology A Review of the State of the Science (1992) / Chapter Skim
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5. Interactions With Larger-Scale Weather Systems
Pages 45-50

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From page 45...
... The complexities introduced by such mesoscale and synoptic-scale interactions hinder conceptual understanding, and accurate forecasting of changing coastal conditions requires the simultaneous simulation of a variety of disparate processes and their interactions. Manifestations of these interactions are numerous; only examples are provided here.
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From page 46...
... During and after landfall, the near-surface winds associated with the storm decelerate as a result of increased surface friction, which causes an expansion in radius of the eye wall cloud as well as creation of a stably stratified atmosphere in the lower atmosphere due to lower tropospheric cooling. Above the lowest levels, however, the winds usually remain strong and can even increase temporarily as coupling with the surface is diminished.
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From page 47...
... is much colder than the land, a cold front moving parallel to the coast undergoes local intensification and advances rapidly along the coast while being inhibited farther inland. While the cold front appears to be orographically trapped, numerical simulations have shown that differential surface heat fluxes play a primary role in modification of the cold front (Howells and Kuo, 1988~.
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From page 48...
... front of eastern China and Japan appear to be strongly dominated by the direct effects of latent heat release focused by orography or a frontal wave (e.g., Chen and Yu, 1988; Nagata and Ogura, 1991~. Along the east coast of the United States, it has been suggested that coastal fronts can supply the necessary focusing mechanism and cooperatively interact with the resulting cyclone.
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From page 49...
... We recommend strongly focused numerical, observational, and theoretical investigations into specific mesoscale-synoptic interactions: · Research should be conducted to determine the dynamics of the local intensification of cyclone winds by coastal topography and the resulting modification of storm intensity and motion. · Further research should be implemented to identify the causes of strong local winds, tornadoes, and extreme precipitation within land-falling hurricanes, polar lows, and extratropical cyclones.
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Key Terms

  • coastal front
  • polar lows
  • latent heat
  • heat release
  • air damming

  • coastal fronts
  • cold front
  • east coast
  • cold dome
  • surface friction

  • temperature gradient
  • localized latent
  • farther inland
  • polar low
  • ice edge

  • heat fluxes
  • local intensification
  • temperature contrast
  • layer encourages
  • water leads

  • storms tend
  • moving parallel
  • sea surface
  • coastal conditions
  • circulations discussed

  • cyclone propagated
  • front nearly
  • front moving
  • torrential rainfall
  • storm approaches


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