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Overview

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

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.

Instruction 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.

Selected Publications

• Colucci, S. J., 2010: Stratospheric influences on tropospheric weather systems. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 67, 324 - 344.
• Shieh, O. H., and S. J. Colucci, 2010: Local minimum of tropical cyclogenesis in the eastern Caribbean. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 91, 185 - 196.
• Williams, I. N., and S. J. Colucci, 2010: Characteristics of baroclinic wave packets during strong and weak stratospheric polar vortex events. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 67, 3190 - 3207.
• 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.