Cut-Off Lows over South Africa: A Review

Every year, cut-off low (COL) pressure systems produce severe weather conditions and heavy rainfall, often leading to flooding, devastation disruption of socio-economic activities in South Africa. COLs are defined as cold-cored synoptic-scale mid-tropospheric low-pressure which occur the mid-latitudes cause persistent rainfall. As they throughout these important rainfall producing that also associated with extreme cold snowfalls. An in-depth review is critical due their high impacts affect some parts country regularly, affecting lives livelihoods. Here, we provide a comprehensive literature on over African domain, whilst comparing them Southern Hemisphere counterparts occurring America Australia. We focus occurrence, development, propagation, dynamical processes society environment. seek understand stratospheric–tropospheric exchanges resulting from tropopause folding during occurrence COLs. Sometimes, may extend surface, creating conducive floods Africa, especially when impinged coastal escarpment. The slow propagation appears be largely modulated by quasi-stationary high-pressure system downstream acting blocking system. reviewed two COL events occurred south east coasts found both cases, interactions low-level flow escarpment enhanced lifting deep convection. It was determined several numerical prediction models struggle placement amounts COLs, near coast interior plateau. Our study provides single most treatise deals characteristics domain.