Synoptic and Dynamic Meteorology
Office: Burnside Hall 715
Tel: (514) 398-3760
Fax.: (514) 398-6115
john.gyakum [at] mcgill.ca (E-mail)
Group Photo
Research interests
Our research group conducts research on synoptic-dynamic analyses and forecasting of extreme weather in the context of climate variability. The extreme weather research involves comprehensive analyses of dynamic and thermodynamic environments (and their variability in a changing climate) facilitating such phenomena as freezing rain storms, arctic air mass generation, extreme precipitation events in extratropical latitudes, and extreme extratropical cyclogenesis. We are also studying mesoscale processes in the Saint Lawrence River Valley (SLRV, where Montreal is located), with a focus on orographic modulation of wind, precipitation, and temperature. An example of the SLRV’s impact on sensible weather is the channeling of winds that are associated with enhancing precipitation amounts beyond what can be expected for similar weather systems in level terrain.
Current projects
- Radiative processes in the generation of arctic air masses
- The identification and analysis of atmospheric circulation and weather regimes
- Baroclinic conditioning of environments facilitating extreme extratropical oceanic cyclogenesis
- Synoptic-dynamic analyses of long-duration freezing rain storms
Some recent publications
(student, postdoctoral fellow, and research associates in italics):
- Lee, J., J. Hwang, S.-W. Son, and J. R. Gyakum, 2022: Future changes of East Asian extratropical cyclones in the CMIP5 models. J. Climate, 35, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0945.1
- Low, Y., J. R. Gyakum, and E. H. Atallah, 2022: Extreme winter precipitation regimes in eastern North America: synoptic-scale and thermodynamic environments. Mon. Wea. Rev., 150, 1833-1850. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-21-0255.1
- Melamed-Turkish, K., S. M. Milrad, J. R. Gyakum, and E. H. Atallah, 2022: A conceptual synoptic model approach to the development of a precipitation climatology as applied to Montreal, Quebec. Wea. Forecasting, 37, 1221-1238. https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-21-0139.1
- Liu, L, Y. Huang, J. R. Gyakum, D. D. Turner, and P. J. Gero, 2022: Trends in downwelling longwave radiance over the southern Great Plains. J. Geophys. Res.: Atmospheres, 127, (6) e2021JD035949. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035949
For a complete list of publications for all our faculty, please click here.