Synoptic frontal analysis: time for a reassessment?

Abstract

The Bergen model has also been applied in regions and under conditions quite unlike those for which the model was originally developed. Knowledge of these problems by many in the research and operational communities has had little impact on the manner in which synoptic charts are analyzed or the way the subject is described in many textbooks. Deficiencies in the underlying conceptual model of cyclone development have been compounded by a lack of consistent and well-defined procedures for defining fronts and for analysing surface synoptic charts. Several examples of confusing and inconsistent surface analyses are presented in this paper. -from Author