Impacts of Jet Stream Structure on Cyclone Merging and Persistent Anticyclones: Insights from Dry Idealized Simulations

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ren, Mingfei, Zhang, Gan, Cheng, Kai-Yuan, Harris, Lucas, Tamarin-Brodsky, Talia, Mouallem, Joseph
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Ren, Mingfei
Zhang, Gan
Cheng, Kai-Yuan
Harris, Lucas
Tamarin-Brodsky, Talia
Mouallem, Joseph
author_facet Ren, Mingfei
Zhang, Gan
Cheng, Kai-Yuan
Harris, Lucas
Tamarin-Brodsky, Talia
Mouallem, Joseph
contents Midlatitude jet streams exhibit substantial variability in latitude, width, and vertical depth on synoptic to multi-decadal timescales. While the upper-level dynamics of baroclinic waves have been extensively studied, the sensitivity of the extreme-generating, low-level phenomena to these variations remains underexplored. Here, we systematically investigate this sensitivity using dry, adiabatic idealized experiments with the GFDL FV3 dry dynamical core initialized with analytically specified jets. We identify jet variations that control synoptic-scale features of interest. Results indicate that poleward-shifted jets accelerate initial cyclone intensification and favor anticyclonic Rossby Wave Breaking (RWB). These wave-breaking tendencies are consistent with established baroclinic paradigms, validating the newly configured idealized simulations. Additionally, jet width regulates the likelihood of surface cyclone merging. Poleward-shifted, broader, and higher jets produce more frequent cyclone merging, generating intense wind extremes. Finally, we show that poleward-shifted, broad, deep jets dynamically precondition the flow for persistent stationary anticyclones in the absence of diabatic contributions. Together, these findings illustrate how changes in jet stream structure may modulate midlatitude weather extremes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_07859
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Impacts of Jet Stream Structure on Cyclone Merging and Persistent Anticyclones: Insights from Dry Idealized Simulations
Ren, Mingfei
Zhang, Gan
Cheng, Kai-Yuan
Harris, Lucas
Tamarin-Brodsky, Talia
Mouallem, Joseph
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Midlatitude jet streams exhibit substantial variability in latitude, width, and vertical depth on synoptic to multi-decadal timescales. While the upper-level dynamics of baroclinic waves have been extensively studied, the sensitivity of the extreme-generating, low-level phenomena to these variations remains underexplored. Here, we systematically investigate this sensitivity using dry, adiabatic idealized experiments with the GFDL FV3 dry dynamical core initialized with analytically specified jets. We identify jet variations that control synoptic-scale features of interest. Results indicate that poleward-shifted jets accelerate initial cyclone intensification and favor anticyclonic Rossby Wave Breaking (RWB). These wave-breaking tendencies are consistent with established baroclinic paradigms, validating the newly configured idealized simulations. Additionally, jet width regulates the likelihood of surface cyclone merging. Poleward-shifted, broader, and higher jets produce more frequent cyclone merging, generating intense wind extremes. Finally, we show that poleward-shifted, broad, deep jets dynamically precondition the flow for persistent stationary anticyclones in the absence of diabatic contributions. Together, these findings illustrate how changes in jet stream structure may modulate midlatitude weather extremes.
title Impacts of Jet Stream Structure on Cyclone Merging and Persistent Anticyclones: Insights from Dry Idealized Simulations
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07859