Lf. Bosart et al., INCIPIENT EXPLOSIVE MARINE CYCLOGENESIS - COASTAL DEVELOPMENT, Tellus. Series A, Dynamic meteorology and oceanography, 47(1), 1995, pp. 1-29
A case of incipient explosive marine cyclogenesis along the east coast
of North America from February 1974 is investigated. The cyclone was
noteworthy for deepening 36 mb in 15 h as it crossed a region of anoma
lously warm sea surface temperatures beneath a very favorable flow con
figuration aloft for explosive development. The precyclogenetic enviro
nment featured coastal frontogenesis and cyclonic vorticity production
in association with oceanic sensible and latent heat fluxes in the we
stward-flowing air in advance of the cyclone. The resulting relatively
high values of surface vorticity in the coastal baroclinic zone proba
bly helped to contribute to the intensity of the ensuing cyclogenesis,
as a peak cyclonic vorticity tendency of similar to 30 x 10(-9) s(-2)
was computed in the coastal baroclinic zone at the time of most rapid
surface intensification.