Cold-air cyclogenesis along the Gulf-Stream front: investigation of diabatic impacts on cyclone development, frontal structure, and track

Abstract

On 24–25 February 1989 a storm brought high winds and moderate to heavy snow to the U.S. East Coast. The storm is noteworthy for its rapid mesoscale development within a polar air mass at relatively low latitudes and for the difficulty experienced by operational NWP models and forecasters in predicting the storm’s impact. This paper investigates the mesoscale structure and evolution of the cold-air cyclone through analysis of enhanced data sets collected during the \(\underline{\rm E}\)xperiment on \(\underline{\rm R}\)apidly \(\underline{\rm I}\)ntensifying \(\underline{\rm C}\)yclones over the \(\underline{\rm A}\)tlantic (ERICA). Results are presented from numerical sensitivity studies of the impact of diabatic heating on storm structure and track using the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS) model.