Tropospheric impact of reflected planetary waves from the stratosphere

Abstract

A reflection of stratospheric planetary waves and its impact on the troposphere during a stratospheric sudden warming of March 2007 are investigated. Zonal propagation and reflection of the planetary waves is clearly seen in the longitude‐height sections of the eddy geopotential height and the vertical and zonal component of the three‐dimensional wave activity flux. A wave packet propagating upward and eastward from Eurasian continent was reflected by a negative wind shear in the upper stratospheric westerly jet caused by stratospheric warming. Waves then propagated downward to the American‐Atlantic sector of the troposphere, which led to the formation of a deep trough over the Atlantic and brought cold weather to the northeastern part of the American continent.