Extratropical Cylcone Sensitivity

The projected warming to our climate system goes far beyond a simple temperature increase. Other conditions that affect the genesis of extratropical cyclones are changing as well, such as moisture content, jet strength, and baroclinicity. These types of changes may have an equal, if not greater, effect on the development of extratropical cyclones in the future. Attempting to quantify this response, we have turned to an idealized modeling framework, using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), conducting both single-variable and multivariate tests. Using this framework we can then identify key controls on extratropical cyclone strength, as well as identifying interactions that can amplify cyclone strength.