(Some Comments On) The Influence of the Gulf Stream on the North 
Atlantic Storm Track

The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that travels north and then east off 
the coast of North America. The heat carried in the current helps create a 
strong meridional sea surface temperature gradient and a region of warm 
water south of the gradient.  Both the gradient and the region of warm 
water can potentially force midlatitude storms: the temperature gradient 
can affect the low level baroclinicity, while the warm water provides a 
moisture source that storms utilize through condensation processes within 
their warm conveyor belt.  In this talk I will discuss the relative roles of the 
baroclinicity and condensation mechanisms in forcing the mean state of 
the storm track.  Then I will discuss the forcing of the storm track by the 
variability of the Gulf Stream.  Using the ERA40 Reanalysis, a set of 
statistical comparisons are made to search for a signal in the storm 
variability that could be attributed to variability in the sea surface 
temperatures.  Results suggest that if there is a signal in the storm track 
caused by Gulf Stream variability, it is overwhelmed by the variability in the 
atmosphere.