Storm track

A storm track is the preferred path along which extratropical cyclones propagate across the mid-latitudes — a conveyor belt of atmospheric disturbances that transports heat, moisture, and momentum from the tropics toward the poles. The North Atlantic storm track, anchored by the Icelandic Low and steered by the jet stream, is one of the most vigorous on Earth. Storm tracks are not fixed geographical features but dynamical structures that shift position and intensity in response to changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation, and oceanic variability such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. From a systems perspective, a storm track is the atmosphere's primary heat transport mechanism — the channel through which the climate system resolves temperature gradients that would otherwise grow unstable.