Tropospheric weather influenced by solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere system

Extreme weather events caused by intensification of tropical and extratropical cyclones can have destructive impacts on infrastructure, society, and environment. Forecasting extreme weather continues to present challenges. In this study, we consider possible external factors that can lead to severe weather. It has been shown that significant weather events, including explosive extratropical cyclones [1,2], rapid intensification of tropical cyclones [3], and heavy rainfall causing floods and flash floods [4,5] tend to follow arrivals of solar wind high-speed streams from coronal holes. To further support these results, we use the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database of tornadoes in the superposed epoch analysis to study the occurrence of tornado outbreaks relative to arrival time of solar wind disturbances caused by solar activity. This includes solar flares that can launch coronal mass ejections [6], coronal holes that are sources of high-speed streams, and high-density plasma adjacent to the heliospheric current sheet where the interplanetary magnetic field reverses its polarity [7]. Solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere system generates globally propagating atmospheric gravity waves [8,9] that can reach the troposphere with attenuated amplitudes but are subject to amplification upon over-reflection in the troposphere. These atmospheric gravity waves can trigger/release moist instabilities leading to convection and latent heat release, which is the energy driving the storms [10]. 

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