Date of Award

1-1-2017

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School/Department

Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (ii, xiv, 124 pages)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Andrea L Lang

Keywords

Winter storms, Snow, Severe storms, Long-range weather forecasting

Subject Categories

Atmospheric Sciences

Abstract

Major transition season Northeast snowstorms have the potential to cause widespread socioeconomic disruption in the form of transportation delays, infrastructure damage, and widespread power outages. Because heavy, wet snow tends to occur in transition season Northeast snowstorms, lesser accumulations can result in greater disruption than if the same accumulation occurred in winter season Northeast snowstorms. This study is motivated by the opportunity to improve scientific understanding and forecaster situational awareness of this class of snowstorms by means of a multiscale analysis. The multiscale analysis focuses on documenting: 1) the planetary-to-synoptic-scale flow patterns occurring prior to and during major transition season Northeast snowstorms, with emphasis on the role of moisture transport occurring within atmospheric rivers in the formation and evolution of this class of snowstorms, and 2) the synoptic-to-mesoscale flow patterns in the extratropics occurring prior to and during major transition season Northeast snowstorms, with emphasis on the formation and maintenance of regions of lower-tropospheric cold air that coincide with areas of heavy snowfall.

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