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Surface Synoptic Climatic Patterns for Heavy Snowfall Events in the Republic of Korea  

Choi, Gwang-Yong (Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University)
Kim, Jun-Su (Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Geographical Society / v.45, no.3, 2010 , pp. 319-341 More about this Journal
Abstract
The purposes of this study are to classify heavy snowfall types in the Republic of Korea based on fresh snowfall data and atmospheric circulation data during the last 36(1973/74-2008/09) snow seasons and to identify typical surface synoptic climate patterns that characterize each heavy snowfall type. Four synoptic climate categories and seventeen regional heavy snowfall types are classified based on sea level pressure/surface wind vector patterns in East Asia and frequent spatial clustering patterns of heavy snowfall in the Republic of Korea, respectively. Composite analyses of multiple surface synoptic weather charts demonstrate that the locations and intensity of pressure/wind vector mean and anomaly cores in East Asia differentiate each regional heavy snowfall type in Korea. These differences in synoptic climatic fields are primarily associated with the surge of the Siberian high pressure system and the appearance of low pressure systems over the Korean Peninsula. In terms of hemispheric atmospheric circulation, synoptic climatic patterns in the negative mode of winter Arctic Oscillation (AO) are also associated with frequent heavy snowfall in the Republic of Korea at seasonal scales. These results from long-term synoptic climatic data could contribute to improvement of short-range or seasonal prediction of regional heavy snowfall.
Keywords
regional heavy snowfall types; surface synoptic climatic analyses; pressure anomaly cores; Arctic Oscillation;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 4  (Citation Analysis)
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