Articles | Volume 6, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-211-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-211-2025
Research article
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18 Feb 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 18 Feb 2025

Synoptic perspective on the conversion and maintenance of local available potential energy in extratropical cyclones

Marc Federer, Lukas Papritz, Michael Sprenger, and Christian M. Grams

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Cited articles

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Besson, P., Fischer, L. J., Schemm, S., and Sprenger, M.: A global analysis of the dry-dynamic forcing during cyclone growth and propagation, Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 991–1009, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-991-2021, 2021. a
Binder, H., Boettcher, M., Joos, H., and Wernli, H.: The role of warm conveyor belts for the intensification of extratropical cyclones in northern hemisphere winter, J. Atmos. Sci., 73, 3997–4020, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-15-0302.1, 2016. a, b
Bosart, L. F., Hakim, G. J., Tyle, K. R., Bedrick, M. A., Bracken, W. E., Dickinson, M. J., and Schultz, D. M.: Large-scale antecedent conditions associated with the 12–14 March 1993 cyclone (“Superstorm '93”) over eastern North America, Mon. Weather Rev., 124, 1865–1891, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1996)124<1865:LSACAW>2.0.CO;2​​​​​​​, 1996. a
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Executive editor
This study provides a novel Lagrangian perspective on cyclogenesis grounded in atmospheric energetics. While the energetics framework is commonly used to understand the planetary scale circulation, its application to synoptic scales is less explored. The authors establish a close connection between extratropical baroclinic zones and local available potential energy, and further analyze air parcel trajectories to link conversions between potential and kinetic energy to specific features of the developing cyclones. The results of this study offer insights into the local, synoptic and large scale contributions to cyclogenesis that are relevant for diverse disciplines in atmospheric and climate sciences.
Short summary
Although extratropical cyclones in the North Atlantic are among the most impactful midlatitude weather systems, their intensification is not entirely understood. Here, we explore how individual cyclones convert available potential energy (APE) into kinetic energy and relate these conversions to the synoptic development of the cyclones. By combining potential vorticity thinking with a local APE framework, we offer a novel perspective on established concepts in dynamic meteorology.
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