• Atmosphere
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.671-687
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• 2019

This study evaluates the long-term seasonal predictability of summer (June, July and August) heatwaves over South Korea using 30-year (1989~2018) Hindcast data of the Pusan National University Coupled General Circulation Model (PNU CGCM)-Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) chain. Heatwave indices such as Number of Heatwave days (HWD), Heatwave Intensity (HWI) and Heatwave Warning (HWW) are used to explore the long-term seasonal predictability of heatwaves. The prediction skills for HWD, HWI, and HWW are evaluated in terms of the Temporal Correlation Coefficient (TCC), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Skill Scores such as Heidke Skill Score (HSS) and Hit Rate (HR). The spatial distributions of daily maximum temperature simulated by WRF are similar overall to those simulated by NCEP-R2 and PNU CGCM. The WRF tends to underestimate the daily maximum temperature than observation because the lateral boundary condition of WRF is PNU CGCM. According to TCC, RMSE and Skill Score, the predictability of daily maximum temperature is higher in the predictions that start from the February and April initial condition. However, the PNU CGCM-WRF chain tends to overestimate HWD, HWI and HWW compared to observations. The TCCs for heatwave indices range from 0.02 to 0.31. The RMSE, HR and HSS values are in the range of 7.73 to 8.73, 0.01 to 0.09 and 0.34 to 0.39, respectively. In general, the prediction skill of the PNU CGCM-WRF chain for heatwave indices is highest in the predictions that start from the February and April initial condition and is lower in the predictions that start from January and March. According to TCC, RMSE and Skill Score, the predictability is more influenced by lead time than by the effects of topography and/or terrain feature because both HSS and HR varies in different leads over the whole region of South Korea.