It has been estimated that wind gusts reached at least 170 miles per hour (150 kn). [41], Extratropical cyclones are generally driven, or "steered", by deep westerly winds in a general west to east motion across both the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth. They are termed mid-latitude cyclones if they form within those latitudes, or post-tropical cyclones if a tropical cyclone has intruded into the mid latitudes. As the cyclone strengthens, the cold front sweeps towards the equator and moves around the back of the cyclone. During the initial stage of the cyclone’s life cycle, also known as cyclogenesis, a boundary separates opposing fronts of cold and warm air. [22][23], The Joint Typhoon Warning Center uses the extratropical transition (XT) technique to subjectively estimate the intensity of tropical cyclones becoming extratropical based on visible and infrared satellite imagery. [34] Various charts can be examined to check the characteristics of a cold-core system with height, such as the 700 millibars (20.67 inHg) chart, which is at about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) altitude. These cyclones are large-scale systems that typically travels eastward over greart distance and bring precipitations over wide areas. [31], In the northern hemisphere, once a cyclone occludes, a trough of warm air aloft—or "trowal" for short—will be caused by strong southerly winds on its eastern periphery rotating aloft around its northeast, and ultimately into its northwestern periphery (also known as the warm conveyor belt), forcing a surface trough to continue into the cold sector on a similar curve to the occluded front. [21] The process known as "tropical transition" involves the usually slow development of an extratropically cold core vortex into a tropical cyclone. [60] The system's winds exceeded 160 km/h (99 mph) while Montevideo, the country's capital with 1.5 million inhabitants, was affected by tropical storm-force winds for over 12 hours and by hurricane-force winds for nearly four hours. Xtra Geography: In this lesson we take a look at Mid-latitude Cyclones and discuss the stages of development as well as associated conditions. Meridional flow patterns feature strong, amplified troughs and ridges, generally with more northerly and southerly flow. 3.1 (a) Provide evidence from the synoptic chart indicating that P and Q are mid-latitude cyclones. [4] A separate study in the Northern Hemisphere suggests that approximately 234 significant extratropical cyclones form each winter. The storm known in Great Britain and Ireland as the "Great Storm of 1987" deepened to 953 millibars (28.14 inHg) with a highest recorded wind of 220 km/h (140 mph), resulting in the loss of 19 lives, 15 million trees, widespread damage to homes and an estimated economic cost of £1.2 billion (US$2.3 billion). [citation needed], A violent storm during the Crimean War on November 14, 1854, wrecked 30 vessels, and sparked initial investigations into meteorology and forecasting in Europe. [citation needed], In the Southern Hemisphere, a violent extratropical storm hit Uruguay on August 23–24, 2005, killing 10 people. 14. Thunderstorms and heavy rains are more common when a _____ passes in a mid-latitude cyclone. The system’s lowest pressure is located at the center of the wave, and the cyclone’s winds are strongest about eight miles above ground. in creative writing from the New School, as well as a diploma in audio engineering from the Institute for Audio Research. 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