Relationship between Absolute Vorticity Maxima and vertical motion

• east of vort max will be divergence, upward motion

• west of vort max will be convergence, downward motion

• When a vort max move toward the polar front, it is possible that it will help generate a wave cyclone

• even in the absence of surface fronts, a short wave can produce an area of cloudiness and sometimes precip.

• short waves are most easily observed in water vapor satellite imagery

• short waves are most easily observed in water vapor satellite imagery - check out the real-time data

• They are readily seen at upper levels in model predictions