Characteristics of Super Atmospheric Rivers Associated With Explosive Extratropical Cyclones Over the Northern Pacific Ocean

Abstract Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are elongated, narrow corridors of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere, transporting significant amounts of water vapor outside the tropics and causing heavy precipitation. ARs are often accompanied with explosive extratropical cyclones (EECs) over oceans. This paper investigates the characteristics of 118 super ARs associated with EECs over the Northern Pacific Ocean. Nearly 78.0% of ARs are associated with strong or super EECs, indicating that stronger ARs may lead to more explosive development of EECs. The composite analyses of ARs suggest that the AR is typically located in southwest of the cyclone center, in front of the cold front, with mean value of AR top pressure of approximately 693.51 hPa. In addition, water vapor from low latitudes and that evaporating from the sea surface are two important water vapor sources for ARs. Through investigating the evolution of EECs, a mechanism strengthens ARs and EECs.