SAM and the nature of frontal depressions

THE weather picture in temperate latitudes can get very messy. Between the southern edge of the sub-tropical ridge (STR) and about 60 degrees south there are several major drivers of local weather locked in a contest for dominance.

There is the STR itself, moving north and south and varying in intensity. To the south is the belt of infamous westerlies, called the southern annular mode (SAM), weaving about and pulsating in intensity and, to the south of the westerlies, the polar front (PF) with its dramatic wind shear.

The principal weather feature in this area of significance to the cruising sailor is the frontal depression (FD). These regularly spin off the PF, move in a characteristic way, have an identifiable life-cycle and are frequent enough to be a regular feature of cruising anywhere between Perth, around the southern coasts, up as far as the NSW/Qld border. See Diagram 1.

I do not envy the lot of the professional meteorologist. I have the easier life of an enthusiastic amateur.