Science Source

Atmospheric blocking as a traffic jam in the jet stream

States that atmospheric blocking due to anomalous, persistent meandering of the jet stream often causes weather extremes in the midlatitudes
States that despite its ubiquity, the onset mechanism of blocking is not well understood
Demonstrates with meteorological data that there exists a close analogy between blocking and traffic congestion on a highway, and that they can be described by a common mathematical theory
The theory predicts that the jet stream has a capacity for the flux of wave activity (a measure of meandering), just as the highway has traffic capacity, and when it is exceeded, blocking manifests as congestion
Stationary waves modulate the jet stream’s capacity for transient waves and localize block formation
Climate change likely affects blocking frequency by modifying the jet stream’s proximity to capacity