Cold Air
Damming
•Freezing precipitation occurs frequently
along the east side of the Appalachian Mountains associated with the
“cold air damming”.
•15% of all freezing precipitation events
affecting the US east of the Rockies are due to this process.
(A)The easterlies associated with the
high-pressure center over the Atlantic Ocean force the cold arctic air along the
coast.
(B)Cyclones develop along the eastern coast of
the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Coast and move northeastward.
(C)When cyclones east of the Rockies moves
toward the Great lakes, the warm front advances on either side of the
Appalachian and produces a “cold air trapping”.