The Ohio Valley Wave-Merger Cyclogenesis Event of 25–26 January 1978. Part II: Diagnosis Using Quasigeostrophic Potential Vorticity Inversion

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Abstract
The dynamical interactions between precursor disturbances during the wave-merger cyclogenesis event of 25–26 January 1978 over eastern North America are diagnosed using quasigeostrophic potential vorticity (QGPV) inversion. This case is characterized by two prominent preexisting upper-level disturbances that induce rapid surface cyclogenesis as they come into close proximity. Static QGPV inversion is used to attribute a particular geopotential height field to the QGPV associated with each precursor disturbance. The full flow is partitioned into the following components: the northern upper precursor, the southern upper precursor, and the background flow. Prognostic QGPV inversion is used to quantify the instantaneous geopotential height tendencies attributable to each of these flow components. The static-inversion results for the upper precursors exhibit the structure of baroclinic vortices with maximum amplitude near the tropopause. During the 48-h period spanning the period of study of this even... Abstract The dynamical interactions between precursor disturbances during the wave-merger cyclogenesis event of 25–26 January 1978 over eastern North America are diagnosed using quasigeostrophic potential vorticity (QGPV) inversion. This case is characterized by two prominent preexisting upper-level disturbances that induce rapid surface cyclogenesis as they come into close proximity. Static QGPV inversion is used to attribute a particular geopotential height field to the QGPV associated with each precursor disturbance. The full flow is partitioned into the following components: the northern upper precursor, the southern upper precursor, and the background flow. Prognostic QGPV inversion is used to quantify the instantaneous geopotential height tendencies attributable to each of these flow components. The static-inversion results for the upper precursors exhibit the structure of baroclinic vortices with maximum amplitude near the tropopause. During the 48-h period spanning the period of study of this even...

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