Southeast Coastal Ocean Report 1 Section 1.    Atmospheric  Characteristics Contributed by Francisco Werner (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) The atmospheric characteristics of the southeast coastal ocean (the SEACOOS domain) are summarized.  Elements of the review include a description of the seasonal transitions in the wind field, and severe storms including winter cold air outbreaks and hurricanes. Seasonal Patterns in the Wind Field Five seasonal wind regimes have been associated with the South Atlantic Bight and East Florida Shelf regions (Weber and Blanton, 1980; Journal of Physical Oceanography, 10:1256-1263); see Figure 1.1 herein.    ·  Winter (November to February/March): winds are persistently southeastward in North Carolina and turn more southward over Florida;    ·  Spring transition (March to May): winds shift to westward from Florida to South Carolina, with the winds elsewhere in the region being more variable; ·  Summer (June and July): westward winds dominate the southern reaches of the domain, and northward flow sets in for the central to northern portions of the SAB (Georgia to North Carolina); ·  Fall (August): the summer wind patterns break down and become generally disorganized except for Florida’s westward and southwestward winds; and, ·  “Mariner’s fall” (September and October): southwestward winds (at times strong) occur over the domain, with westward winds at times over Florida.    Winter Cold Air Outbreaks (winter extra-tropical cyclones) During the winter months, extratropical cyclones often travel across the southeastern states and out over the Atlantic Ocean and are known for the devastating weather they sometimes bring.  These storms frequently produce ice, heavy snow and gale force winds which can cause property damage and loss of life.  Perhaps the most infamous of these cold air outbreaks contributed to the tragic loss of the space shuttle Challenger in January of 1986.   Coincidentally, also in 1986, the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment (GALE) investigated these storms and their effect on the SE coastal ocean (JGR, Volume 94, number C8, 1989).  Figure (1.2) provides snapshots of the atmospheric winds and pressure for a more recent (March 2001) storm that passed through the southeastern region.  This storm, and another one in the same month, are the subject of a SEACOOS hindcast modeling paper by He et al (in preparation).