Development

of High and
Low
Pressure
Systems
METR 100-150
3 March 2015

Overview
Extratropical cyclone: low pressure system
forming in midlatitudes, with
counterclockwise wind in the N. Hemisphere
Bring most severe weather we experience
so, how do they form?

Force Imbalances
Force imbalances in horizontal airflow may
cause vertical motion via
Convergence
Directional
Speed

Divergence
Directional
Speed

Conservation of Mass
Air not very
compressible
Thus,
convergence or
divergence
require vertical
motion!

Conservation of Mass
Convergence:
Air cannot flow into the surface, so it rises
Air cannot easily enter the stratosphere, so
it sinks
Divergence:
Air must fill a gap created by divergence
Thus, air flows toward wherever there is
divergence

Conservation of Mass
Low pressure
(cyclone): surface
convergence
High pressure
(anticyclone):
surface divergence

Forces in a Cyclone
Start in geostrophic
balance
As it circles the low,
direction of PGF has
component opposite
parcels motion
Force imbalance!
An inward The parcel slowsso pointing force now
Coriolis effect
exists
weakens

Forces in a Cyclone
Centripetal
acceleration: the net
inward-directed force
The wind slowed: it
is subgeostrophic in
cyclonically-curved
flow

In an Anticyclone
Start in geostrophic
balance again
Now, the PGF has a
component in the
direction of the flow
Force imbalance!
The parcel speeds
up

An outward-pointing
force now exists

In an Anticyclone
The wind sped up: it
is
supergeostrophic
in anticyclonicallycurved flow

Recall what a typical upper-air

pattern looks like:

a series of waves!

Putting the pieces together

Areas of cyclonic & anticyclonic curvature
aloft produce areas of subgeostrophic &
supergeostrophic winds

So where do
you think a
surface low
will develop?
A surface high?

Add a Jetstreak
A few more definitions:
Entrance region: region where air flows
into a jetstreak
Exit region: region where air leaves a
jetstreak
Also split into right and left quadrants
(imagine yourself moving with the wind)

Entrance Region
A jetstreak exists because there is a
locally stronger gradient of heights
The PGF increases, causing a force
imbalance
A parcel accelerates toward lower
pressure
Corresponding change in Coriolis force
follows this acceleration
Thus, parcel moves northeast in the
entrance region!

Exit Region

In the exit region, the opposite occurs

PGF decreases
Coriolis force now exceeds PGF
Parcel accelerates southeastward

Add a Jetstreak

and a pattern of convergence/divergence is set up!

Four-quadrant model of a jetstreak

Coupled Jetstreaks
What do you think would happen here?

Combine Curvature & Jetstreaks

North of the jetstream axis, surface highs
and lows are favored
To the south, neither is especially favored

Other EffectsFriction
Recall the force balance around a low at
the surface:

Thus, airflow has a component toward

lows/away from highs
This effect is strongest at the surface

Other Effects
Friction
Thus, friction
works to:
Weaken a low
Weaken a high

Friction works to
equalize pressure
(reduce
imbalances!)

Other Effects...Heating
Diabatic processes: processes in which
heat energy is transferred
Solar heating

Recall that warmer layers are thicker:

Other Effects...Heating
Heating causes layer
to deepen pressure
gradient forms aloft
divergence from the
heated area
convergence near
surface a low
forms!
This is called a
thermal low

Other Effects...Cooling
Cooling causes a
layer to thin a
pressure gradient
forms aloft
convergence toward
the cooled area
divergence at the
surface high
pressure forms!

Integrating Everything
All these effects (and others) work
with/against each other
the result is weather systems!!

Integrating Everything
Highs and lows are often connected systems