Map of a cyclone track.
Tracks of low-level cyclones during different weather regimes in the North Atlantic. Shown are the 500 hectopascal (hPa) Geopotential height anomalies (colors) and total winds (arrows), tracks of low-level weather systems (thin lines), and the jet-stream axis (red line) for the Atlantic Ridge regime. Credit: Tamarin-Brodsky et al. [2026], Figure 1a
Editors’ Highlights are summaries of recent papers by AGU’s journal editors.
Source: AGU Advances

The mid-latitude atmospheric circulation features an interplay between high-frequency variability, such as propagating synoptic systems and low-frequency variability, including slowly-varying weather regimes. Understanding the interaction between these timescales is essential for linking short-term weather dynamics with the long-term mean climate. Central to this interaction is the process of Rossby Wave Breaking (RWB), namely, the final, irreversible stage of large-scale, upper-atmosphere wave lifecycles, where meandering jet-stream flows (Rossby waves) overturn and break.

In Tamarin-Brodsky et al. [2026], 35 years of reanalysis data support the investigation of connections between fast and slow parts of the atmospheric circulations. A simplified wave breaking equation is derived, offering a dynamical explanation for the distribution of RWB events and how they are connected to weather regimes.  

Citation: Tamarin-Brodsky, T., Harnik, N., & Falkena, S. K. J. (2026). On storm tracks, weather regimes, and a wave breaking recipe. AGU Advances, 7, e2025AV002049. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025AV002049

—Alberto Montanari, Editor-in-Chief, AGU Advances  

Text © 2026. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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