Abstract

Abstract In this study, the interaction of cold fronts with idealized coastal terrain typical of the western United States and Canada is considered. Two issues are examined. First, what are the factors that determine the strength of the coastal winds, and second, what are the orographic effects on the frontal evolution? To address these issues, the authors utilize a two-dimensional, Boussinesq terrain-following coordinate numerical model in which a uniform prescribed flow is forced to move over a plateau. The resultant across-mountain velocities are characterized by a zone of strongly decelerated flow upstream of the windward slope and a train of inertia-gravity waves downstream. A barrier-jet oriented parallel to the mountain is produced by the Coriolis force. The variations of the magnitude of the upstream deceleration and the barrier jet over a wide range of Froude numbers and Rossby numbers are described. Steady, linear theory applied to flow over a plateau shows that the upstream deceleration is dete...

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