Physical modelling of baroclinic development in the lee of the Alps

Abstract

When baroclinic development is triggered by an obstacle, like an extended mountain range, the so-called lee, or secondary cyclogenesis can develop. The presence of the obstacle exerts a blocking effect on the lower layers of the impinging airflow, forcing them to go round its borders and reach the lee region with a delay. Blocking and delay are both responsible for the initial pressure decrease downwind of the mountain and for the subsequent proper downstream baroclinic development. According to this rather simple scheme, a cyclogenesis episode in the lee of the Alps was simulated in a hydraulic turntable. The results of these experiments showed a good agreement, both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view, with the analysis of an episode of lee cyclogenesis coupled to a cold outbreak in the Mediterranean, which actually occured in Southern Europe downstream of the Alps.