On the influence of the Alps on a cold front

Klaus P. Hoinka; Martin Hagen; Hans Volkert; Dietrich Heimann

doi:10.3402/tellusa.v42i1.11867

On the influence of the Alps on a cold front

Tellus

Volume 42 (1990): Issue 1

By: Klaus P. Hoinka, Martin Hagen, Hans Volkert and Dietrich Heimann

Open Access

|Jan 1990

Abstract

This paper discusses the synoptic- scale environment and the scale dependent features of a cold front which crossed southern Bavaria on 8 October 1987. The analysis is based on rawinsonde, Doppler radar, aircraft and surface data. The observations reveal that the front was of the ana-type in the synoptic-scale. Its leading edge exhibited small-scale, bore-like characteristics which are typical for an atmospheric gravity current interacting with a stable layer at the ground. The leading edge was marked by several spectacular roll clouds; their generation was favored by south-foehn in the pre-frontal area and by post-frontal precipitation. The low-level front was retarded by the Alps whereas the upper level front crossed the Alps without being distorted. The analysis shows that the cross-frontal gradients in pressure and temperature were stronger close to the Alps than at a greater distance from the obstacle. The data suggest that the middle tropospheric extrusion of cold air towards the front in a downward direction and from behind, which is a characteristic synoptic-scale feature of an ana-front, is weakened in the vicinity of the orography.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v42i1.11867 | Journal eISSN: 3035-9554

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Language: English

Page range: 140 - 164

Submitted on: Nov 17, 1988

Accepted on: May 19, 1989

Published on: Jan 1, 1990

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 1990 Klaus P. Hoinka, Martin Hagen, Hans Volkert, Dietrich Heimann, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 42 (1990): Issue 1