A Study of the Development of Extratropical Cyclones with an Analytic Model. Part I: The Effects of Stratospheric Structure

The initial-value problem sensitivity of extratropical cyclogenesis to the variation of stratospheric thermal and geopotential configurations associated with tropopause undulations is examined using a new five-layer, quasigeostrophic model of baroclinic development. Findings indicate that the rate of cyclogenesis and the amplification of the tropopause undulation increase if tropospheric static stability is reduced.