Sting jets in intense winter North-Atlantic windstorms

Martinez-Alvarado, O. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5285-0379, Gray, S. L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8658-362X, Catto, J. L. and Clark, P. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1001-9226 (2012) Sting jets in intense winter North-Atlantic windstorms. Environmental Research Letters, 7 (2). 024014. ISSN 1748-9326 doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024014

Abstract/Summary

Extratropical cyclones dominate autumn and winter weather over western Europe. The strongest cyclones, often termed windstorms, have a large socio-economic impact due to the strong surface winds and associated storm surges in coastal areas. Here we show that sting jets are a common feature of windstorms; up to a third of the 100 most intense North Atlantic winter windstorms over the last two decades satisfy conditions for sting jets. The sting jet is a mesoscale descending airstream that can cause strong near-surface winds in the dry slot of the cyclone, a region not usually associated with strong winds. Despite their localized transient nature these sting jets can cause significant damage, a prominent example being the storm that devastated southeast England on 16 October 1987. We present the first regional climatology of windstorms with sting jets. Previously analysed sting jet cases appear to have been exceptional in their track over northwest Europe rather than in their strength.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/36311
Identification Number/DOI	10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024014
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	Institute of Physics
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Available Versions of this Item

• Sting jets in intense winter North-Atlantic windstorms. (deposited 25 Apr 2012 15:23)
  • Sting jets in intense winter North-Atlantic windstorms. (deposited 01 Apr 2014 14:21) [Currently Displayed]