Response of extratropical cyclone activity to the Kuroshio large meander in northern winter

We examined possible responses of cyclone activities to the bimodal path states of the Kuroshio Current [i.e., large meander (LM) and non-LM (NLM)] by using the long-term reanalysis data and the 20th century hindcast experiment of a high-resolution atmosphere-ocean coupled model. Compared with a seasonal mean cyclone track frequency for the LM and NLM periods, a primary cyclone track shifts southward in association with the meander of Kuroshio Current. Composite analyses of the hindcast experiment showed remarkable atmospheric responses accompanying the Kuroshio LM. The Kuroshio LM causes a decrease in latent heat flux in the south of Japan and a southward shift of the near-surface baroclinic zone. Distinctive decreases in thermodynamic fluxes inhibit the rapid development of cyclones in the meander region, eventually inducing positive sea level pressure anomalies downstream from that region.