Statistical Correlation Between Jet Superpositions and Extreme Weather Events in the Winter/Cool Season.

The study of polar-subtropical jet superpositions, the dynamics behind them, and their impacts on severe weather outbreaks is an emerging field of research in synoptic-scale meteorology due to their potential as a major catalyst for cool-season severe weather outbreaks across the continental United States. With growing concern among the scientific community that severe weather events will have drastic socioeconomic reverberations through the end of the century, it is of utter importance to uncover the connection between jet superposition and severe weather events. Given this, we aim to examine the connections between jet superpositions and cold season synoptic forcing events, such as flooding, tornadoes, and extreme cold. Using National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data collected by Winters et al. (2020) over the course of 31 years from 1979 to 2010, we are able to show that these types of synoptic severe weather events intensify further in an environment where jet superposition is occuring. In other words, the stronger the jet stream, the more intense the severe weather event. Our research would lead to a better understanding of the interactions between the subtropical jet (STJ) and polar jet (PJ) in forecasting severe weather and having a better comprehension of the dynamics that lead to such outbreaks.