Dynamical Structures and Precipitation Distributions of Transitioning Tropical Cyclones in Eastern Canada, 1979-2004

From 1979-2004, 32 storms originally tropical in nature (as classified by the National Hurricane Center) have affected Eastern Canada to various degrees during or after extratropical transition (ET). This study examines the dynamical structure of these 32 cases from quasi-geostrophic (QG) and potential vorticity (PV) perspectives,primarily utilizing the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). A composite diagnosis is performed using the Sutcliffe/Trenberth (advection of mid-tropospheric vorticity by the thermal wind), the storms were partitioned into two groups, intensifying and decaying , based upon the QG forcing for ascent. Composite synoptic structures, from both QG and potentialvorticity (PV) views, will be presented for both partitioned groups of storms. In addition, precipitation distributions are analyzed using the 3-hour accumulated precipitation field in the NARR