Synoptic climatology of atlantic coast North‐Easters

• Published in: International Journal of Climatology
• Main Authors: Davis, Robert E., Demme, Gregory, Dolan, Robert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1993
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370130204; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.3370130204; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.3370130204

Abstract A classification of extratropical storms in the north‐western Atlantic Ocean is developed based upon the storm's origin, track, and intensification. All storms producing at least 1.6‐m deep‐water waves at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina from 1943 to 1984 are included. Eight distinct storm types are identified, and their seasonality, interannual variation, and relationship to a previously devised storm‐intensity scale are discussed. The most dangerous storms are cyclones which originate either over Florida or north of Cuba from October through to April, travel northward, and are blocked by a stagnating anticyclone over New England or the North Atlantic. Coastal storm frequencies declined from the mid‐1960s through to the mid‐1970s and increased through to 1984, but the frequency of potentially damaging storms has increased since 1965.