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WHAT IS A RETURN FLOW?

METEOROLOGIST JEFF HABY

This is usually in reference to a fast flow of warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico after a period of drier and cooler weather. A cold front will bring cooler and drier air into the south central and southern U.S. When the winds shift back to a southerly direction, dewpoints and temperature will be on the rise. Return flow is especially evident when an area of low pressure forms or moves into the central U.S. The counterclockwise flow associated with the low pressure will draw air into it from the south (east and southeast of the low). A low with a particularly strong pressure gradient will rapidly draw up warm and moist air from the Gulf. When a strong area of low pressure is in the central U.S., the region the low-level jet is found (to the southeast of the low) will be where the best return flow occurs.