Atmospheric water vapour transport and explosive cyclones

What is it about?

We investigate the role of atmospheric water vapour on the intensification of extratropical cyclones over the North Atlantic Ocean. Specifically we investigate how atmospheric rivers' conditions lead to the explosive development of extratropical cyclones, using WRF-ARW simulations for three recent extratropical storms.

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Why is it important?

Several recent intense extratropical storms had major negative socioeconomic impacts in the Iberian Peninsula and south-western Europe (e.g., Klaus, January 2009; Gong, January 2013) (Liberato et al. 2011; 2014). The dynamic mechanisms behind the explosive intensification of these storms are here studied through mesoscale modeling. This study suggests that atmospheric rivers tend to favour the conditions for explosive extra-tropical storms' development in the three case studies, as simulations performed without the existence of atmospheric rivers produce shallow mid-latitude cyclones.