Keywords

  • atmospheric science
  • large scale atmospheric dynamics
  • large-scale atmospheric dynamics
  • weather analysis and forecasting

Colucci, Stephen John

Professor
Stephen J. Colucci is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. His research and teaching are in the general area of atmospheric science, with the goal of learning more and informing students about weather systems and processes.

research

research and scholarship focus

  • My research concerns the dynamics of large scale midlatitude weather systems such as cyclonic storm systems and anticyclonic fair weather systems. Lately I have been interested in the role of the stratosphere in the lifecycles of these systems.
  • Contribute toward a better understanding of processes governing the behavior of large-scale weather systems in the atmosphere over the earth's middle latitudes. 

    • Improved forecasts of these systems and their associated weather conditions
    • Anticyclonic (high-pressure) weather systems both at the earth's surface and in the middle troposphere where they may participate in blocking flow regimes
    • Processes controlling the interannual and intraseasonal variability of cyclonic winter storms near the east coast of North America

research areas

international geographic focus

affiliations

faculty appointment in

member of graduate field

teaching

teaching focus

I teach advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in atmospheric science, particularly in the processes that determine the weather. In my courses I use simple mathematical models to explain the observed structure and behavior of the atmosphere, illustrated with analyses of actual weather systems and with computational diagnoses of weather data.

service

current professional activities

  • Director of Graduate Studies in Atmospheric Science, 1998-2001
  • Director of Undergraduate Studies in Atmospheric Science, 2001-2004

background

educational background

  • B. S., 1976: Atmospheric Science and Mathematics, The University at Albany
  • M. S., 1979: Atmospheric Science, The University at Albany
  • Ph. D., 1982: Atmospheric Science, The University at Albany

professional background

  • Cornell University, 1989-present
  • Visiting Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, 1988-89
  • Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 1982-88

awards and distinctions

  • Father James Macelwane Award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS), 1976

publications

selected publications (listing in progress)

  • Dong, L., and S. J. Colucci, 2007: Interpreting the opposition between two block-onset forcing mechanisms. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 64, 2091 -2104.
  • Dong, L., and S. J. Colucci, 2005: The role of deformation and potential vorticity in Southern Hemisphere blocking onsets. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 62, 4043-4056.
  • Saez de Adana, F. J., and S. J. Colucci, 2005: Southern Hemisphere blocking onsets associated with upper-tropospheric divergence anomalies. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 62, 1614- 1625.
  • Saez de Adana, F. J., and S. J. Colucci, 2005: Southern Hemisphere blocking onsets associated with upper-tropospheric divergence anomalies. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 62, 1614-1625.
  • Dong, L., and S. J. Colucci, 2005: The role of deformation and potential vorticity in Southern Hemisphere blocking onsets. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 62, 4043-4056.
  • Chan, A.C., S. J. Colucci and A. T. DeGaetano, 2003: Predicting east coast winter storm frequencies from midtropospheric geopotential height patterns.Weather and Forecasting, 18, 1177-1191.
  • Chan, A.C., S. J. Colucci and A. T. DeGaetano, 2003: Predicting East Coast winter storm frequencies from midtropospheric geopotential height patterns. Weather and Forecasting, 18, 1177-1191.
  • Colucci, S. J., 2003: Anticyclones. In: Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences, Ed. J. R. Holton, Academic Press, p. 142- 146.
  • Watson, J. S., and S. J. Colucci, 2002: Evaluation of ensemble predictions of blocking in the NCEP Global
Keywords: atmospheric science, large scale atmospheric dynamics, large-scale atmospheric dynamics, weather analysis and forecasting