| Summary: | A general model is presented for the atmospheric and oceanographic conditions associated with cold-front passages. Three phases characterize a cold-front passage: the prefrontal, frontal passage, and cold-air outbreak phases. The spatial and temporal patterns of wind stress, barometric pressure, as well as the coastal oceanographic response, are presented in a generalized cold-front/cold-air outbreak model. Preliminary study of climatological data indicates two end member types in a family of cold-front passages, those associated with W-E cyclonic migration and southward surges of arctic air. The key difference is the orientation of the front and the pattern of surface winds with respect to the coastline. The coastal oceanographic response appears to be predictable from the cold-front model by simultaneously considering orientation, intensity, and duration of the frontal passage. Coastal oceanographic response determines the sedimentological consequences of the storm.
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