http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1375208

Tropospheric Waves, Jet Streams, and United States Weather Patterns.Resource Paper No. 11

Intended as a supplement to undergraduate college geography courses, this resource paper reviews the mechanism by which surface weather features are linked with the mid-atmospheric circulation within the westerly wind belt. Specifically, vertical atmospheric motions associated with certain aspects of the upper tropospheric flow, including jet streams, are discussed. Processes at this level are related to such surface weather features as cyclones, anticyclones, and air masses, and the way these are modified and steered across the country. The evolution of monthly flow patterns during the period October-December, 1951, are discussed. These three months are useful as a case study because of the close geographical agreement between middle level flow patterns and surface weather departures from normal over the United States; these three months are also noteworthy because of the record setting temperature and precipitation values recorded over wide areas. As an exposition of the relationship between mean tropospheric flow and surface weather patterns, this review describes many of the basic principles underlying extended period weather forecasting as well as the evolution of daily weather over the country as it undergoes monthly or seasonal changes. (Author/MLH).

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