Cold air damming and coastal frontogenesis
Factors that favor cold air damming
- a cold surface high passes north of the Mid Atlantic States and New England
- cold air supplied by the surface high is channeled southward along the east slopes of the Appalachians.
- A ridge of high pressure develops between the mountains and the ocean. This helps to keep a northerly component to the low level winds over the land.
- Easterly or northeasterly low level winds over the ocean and the more northerly winds over the land tighten the thermal gradient near the coast.
- When arctic air is present, the models often have a hard time holding onto cold enough low level temps when the surface high is still over New England or the Great Lakes regions.
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