Predicting the Movement of Carolina Coastal Fronts
Abstract
The topic of coastal front movement has been largely neglected especially in the vicinity of the Carolinas. Since the presence and subsequent movement of the front can effect a significant change in a nearby stations' winds, temperature, and precipitation type, the accurate prediction of coastal front movement is essential to local forecast precision. National Meteorological Center (NMC) three-hourly surface charts for the months of November to March were examined for the years 1975-1989. This search netted 51 Carolina coastal front cases which occurred coincident with Appalachian cold air damming and met additional selection criteria. Although all the cases exhibited a frontal passage at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, it was found that only -two-thirds of the fronts actually migrated inland. In addition the events were determined to have a peak frequency in the month of January, and a mean axis of stagnation, for onshore cases, that is approximated by a line from Hampton, Virginia to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The use of NMC historical grid point data enabled the construction of climatic, composite, and deviation charts which suggest that offshore events are characterized by damming high pressure centers located farther west and with isobars which are oriented, perpendicular to the coast for a longer duration,
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA258280
Entities
People
- William C. Tasso
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology