On the relation between explosive cyclones affecting Europe and the North Atlantic oscillation

Gómara, I., Rodríguez-Fonseca, B., Zurita-Gotor, P. and Pinto, J. G. (2014) On the relation between explosive cyclones affecting Europe and the North Atlantic oscillation. Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (6). pp. 2182-2190. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: 10.1002/2014GL059647

Abstract/Summary

Intense winter cyclones often lead to hazardous weather over Europe. Previous studies have pointed to a link between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and strong European windstorms. However, the robustness of this relation for cyclones of varying intensities remains largely unexplored. In this paper, the bi-directional relation between the NAO and cyclones impacting Europe is analyzed for the period 1950–2010 focusing on the sensitivity to storm intensity. Evidence is given that explosive (EC) and non-explosive cyclones (NoEC) predominantly develop under different large-scale circulation conditions over the North Atlantic. Whereas NoEC evolve more frequently under negative and neutral NAO phases, the number of EC is larger under a positive NAO phase, typically characterized by an intensified jet toward Western Europe. Important differences are also found on the dynamics of NAO evolution after peak intensity for both cyclone populations.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/37930
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/2014GL059647
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	American Geophysical Union
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