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Expert: - 11/5/2002


Question
(I am a physical scientist and am fascinated by weather).  How are lows and highs steered across the US?  Why do they sometimes go northeast and other times go southeast?  Related: why does the cold boundry (jetstream?) fluctuate north/south?  Finally, I have read several introductory weather books.  Can you recommend an intermediate weather book that is "readable"?
thanks  

Answer
Gary,
Good questions!
Here are my answers...
1. Highs and Lows are steered across the country by the upper-air winds, especially the winds in the 10,000 to 20,000 ft. level
2. Weather systems move in different directions, depending on the orientation of the upper level winds
3. The fluctuation of the jet stream north and south is most often the result of changes in the flow pattern in another part of the world. As an example, when the jet stream bulges northward in the western part of the U.S. and western Canada, that in turn causes the jet stream to dip, or "dig" as meteorologists call it, in the eastern part of the U.S. When a jet streak, or the core of the strongest winds, are moving in a particular direction, that jet streak will either act to dig a trough further and cause a bigger dip in the jet stream, or it will lift a trough out, causing the jet stream to pull northward.
4. This is the toughest question, as I do not have any books that readily come to mind that would fit your requirement. I know that the USA TODAY has an excellent book of weather, that may be above the introductory books that you have become accustomed to. An author by the name of DAVID LUDLUM has a good book about weather in the U.S., although it may be a bit too basic for you.

Hopefully, I have answered your questions. If so, please close out this question and give me a rating. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Dave Dombek
AccuWeather.com

Accuweather

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Dave Dombek

Expertise

A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.

Experience

Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.

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