The Mid-Winter 1963 Stratospheric Warming and Circulation Change

Abstract

The stratospheric warming and circulation change of January and February 1963 are discussed by means of constant pressure charts, time sections and cross sections. Rawinsonde data are combined with wind data from the Meteorological Rocket Network. The warming initially appeared at 10 mb over southeastern Canada as the contour field began its evolution from a pattern dominated by a circumpolar vortex to a nearly symmetrical bipolar pattern. The subsequent events, such as the northwestward spread of the warm air and destruction of the wintertime polar cyclone, are found to be strikingly similar to those of the 1957 warming. The circulation changes could be traced upward beyond the 55-km level, with an indication that maximum intensities occurred near 45 km. Contour charts of the 10-, 2-, and 0.4-mb surfaces give evidence that the entire atmospheric layer from about 25 km to at least 55 km belongs to the same regime, but with significant interlevel variations in the slope and intensity of the systems.