That scenario leads to a tighter pressure gradient (the contrast between low and high pressure) and longer-lasting onshore winds, the study says.
They found that the biggest surges develop when slowly moving extratropical cyclones (low pressure systems) encounter a strong anticyclone, or high pressure system. They also looked at the probability of surges linked to much larger-scale atmospheric patterns that cover vast areas. They analyzed atmospheric circulation during storms to look for clusters, and studied climate variability patterns that influenced circulation in the Northeast. The Rutgers scientists examined tide gauge records from the early 20th century through 2010. It excluded hybrid systems, like Superstorm Sandy, that shifted from tropical to non-tropical or were tropical up to 18 hours before peak surges. The study covered the 100 largest storm surges driven by extratropical cyclones at Sewells Point in Norfolk, Virginia, The Battery in southern Manhattan in New York City, and Boston, Massachusetts. “It’s an atmospheric approach to the surge-producing storms.” Catalano, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Atmospheric Science at Rutgers-New Brunswick. “We wanted to understand the large-scale atmospheric circulation associated with storm surges,” said Arielle J. “Like facial recognition software, clustering is trying to find storms that look like one another.” “The clusters are like rough police artist sketches of what surge-producing storms look like,” Broccoli said. Understanding the climatology of storm surges driven by extratropical cyclones is important for evaluating future risks, especially as sea-level rise continues, the researchers said. It’s a new way of studying atmospheric circulation. Broccoli, chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. In a first, the Rutgers scientists found intriguing trends after searching for clusters of, or similarities among, storms, said study coauthor Professor Anthony J.
A powerful nor’easter battered the US East Coast on Jan. They include a freak November 1950 storm and devastating nor’easters in March 1962 and December 1992.
Hurricanes spawn most of the largest storm surges in the northeastern U.S., right? Wrong, according to a study by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists.Įxtratropical cyclones, including nor’easters and other non-tropical storms, generate most of the large storm surges in the Northeast, according to the study in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. Pioneering Rutgers study examines atmospheric patterns during nor’easters and other extratropical cyclones