Taiwan Yushan Snowfall Activity and Its Association with Atmospheric Circulation from 1979 to 2009

Yushan is the most famous location for snow in Taiwan,while snowfall in the subtropical zone is rare.When it is snowing in Yushan,people are experiencing unusually cold and wet weather elsewhere in Taiwan.In this study,Yushan snowfall activity from 1979 to 2009 and the related atmosphere circulation were examined with the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau’s Yushan weather station observations and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/Department of Energy(NCEP/DOE) reanalysis atmospheric data.To provide a quantitative measure of snowfall events,a snowfall activity index(SAI) was defined in this study.The time series of yearly SAIs shows that Yushan snowfall activity for an active year,such as 1983(SAI =39 153) was ～118 times larger than for an inactive year,such as 1999(SAI=331).Our analyses show that snowfall activity is closely related to the position of the East Asian Trough(EAT) and the strength of the West Pacific High(WPH).In active years,when the EAT shifted eastward and the strength of WPH increased,an anomalous anticyclone occurred in the West Pacific.This anticyclone introduced anomalous southwesterly flows along the southeastern cost of mainland China and over Taiwan,resulting in a wetter-than-normal atmosphere that favored snowfall.Alternatively,in inactive years,a drierthan-normal atmosphere resulted in sluggish snowfall seasons.     

1970-2000年中国降雪量变化和区域性分布特征

源自NOAA-NESDIS北半球积雪覆盖数据显示,20世纪70年代至2000年期间,我国降雪覆盖范围基本没有出现明显变化.依据全国无缺测、具有连续日降雪观测的台站资料波谱分析显示,1970-2000年我国降雪量年变化波谱组成比较简单,但具有明显的区域性分布特征和两种相反的变化趋势.划分出4个降雪量年变化相似区域:除东北...     

一次大雪天气过程的多普勒雷达特征分析

利用常规天气资料、新一代多普勒天气雷达资料和改善的EVAD技术,从影响系统、多普勒雷达回波特征及大气动力学角度,详细分析了2006年2月6日出现在华北地区的大雪天气过程。结果表明：500hPa高空槽、850hPa“人”字型切变及地面气旋相配置是这次大雪天气过程的主要影响系统。在雷达有效探测范围内,随着0.7~1.1km高度上中尺度逆切变的出现和4.8km高度上西南急流的建立并向低层扩展,风场辐合明显加强,辐合层加厚,从而为强降雪的出现和维持提供了有利条件,且中尺度逆切变和西南急流存在的时间与强降雪出现及维持的时间有很好的对应。另外冷锋过境时风场辐合再次加强使得较强降雪继续维持。同时用改善的E-VAD技术计算了降雪不同阶段的大气平均散度和平均垂直速度。结果表明：中尺度逆切变系统和冷锋的出现均对应着明显的辐合和上升,辐合和上升又促使强降雪出现和维持,因而从大气动力学角度进一步证实了中尺度逆切变和冷锋的存在及其与强降雪的对应关系。     

On the Characteristics of Heavy Multiple-Day Snowfalls in the Eastern Alps

Based on the daily fresh-snowrecordings of a set of 81 stations of the AustrianHydrographic Service, covering a 19-year period,various aspects of extraordinarily long-lasting severesnowfalls are investigated. Starting from an exactdefinition of periods of Heavy Snowfall Events (HSE),some of the discussed items include the annual andseasonal frequencies of intense snowfall episodes, thelocation and migration paths of the storm centers andthe volume of snow dropped by the individual storms.Another part of the study, designed to visualize thebig variability of snow-related parameters over Alpineterrain, determines for all involved sites maximalobserved and theoretical extreme fresh-snowaccumulations for periods of variable length. Heavythree-day snowfall events are analyzed with specialregard of the resulting avalanche threat.     

Maximum snowfall at long-term stations in the U.S./Canadian Great Lakes

Heavy snowfalls can pose natural hazards in the North American Great Lakes region. Maximum annual snowfalls are presented from an extensive data base at 82 long-period-of-record stations. In the absence of site-specific information, these data should be useful to designers, planners, and resource managers in the region. A relationship exists between maximum snowfalls and latitude because the northern Great Lakes climate is cooler and drier than the climate of the southern Great Lakes. A relationship between longitude and maximum snowfalls appears to be based on the longitudinal variation of precipitable water vapor aloft. No apparent relationship exists between maximum snowfall and elevation when station data are analyzed without regard to data from lake-effect zones. However, when one lake-effect region was analyzed in detail, an orographic effect was clearly evident in both maximum and average annual snowfalls.     

降雪含水比研究进展

降雪深度预报与定量降水预报(QPF)一样是冬季天气预报最重要的业务之一,而降雪含水比是降雪深度预报中所必须的重要参数,国外一般多将其称为snow-to-liquid ratio(SLR)。本文回顾了过去几十年来国内外在SLR的变化特征、影响因素等方面的主要研究进展,并对其预报技术和方法进行了总结和比较。研究表明:SLR具有明显的时间变化,并且存在季节和空间分布差异;大气温度和相对湿度是影响SLR的两个最重要气象因子,气压、垂直运动等气象因素,以及地表风、积雪自重、太阳辐射和积雪融化也会不同程度地影响SLR;随着预报技术的发展,SLR的预报方法可概括为气候学的、统计学的和基于物理基础的三类预报方法,气候学方法过于简单化,统计学方法的应用提高了SLR的预报能力,但仍无法摆脱统计方法自身的缺陷,比较而言,基于数值模式的瞬时预报更符合未来雪深预报业务的精细化发展趋势;目前,国内降雪深度观测资料较少、观测频率较低,有效开展地面降雪和探空加密观测,解决观测资料不足是今后SLR研究中亟待解决的问题;基于数值天气预报业务模式,探索气象因子对SLR的影响机理,建立适合我国冬季天气预报业务需求的降雪预报系统是未来的发展方向。     

A new temperature based method to separate rain and snow

This paper presents the development and testing of a new method to estimate daily snowfall from precipitation and associated temperature records. The new method requires two variables; the threshold mean daily air temperature at which 50% of precipitation is considered snow, and the temperature range within which mixed precipitation can occur. Sensitivity analyses using 15 climate stations across south‐western Alberta, Canada, and ranging from prairie to alpine regions investigates the sensitivity of those two variables on mean annual snowfall (MAS), the coefficient of determination, and the MAS‐weighted coefficient of determination. Existing methods, including the static threshold method, one linear transition method used by Quick and Pipes, and the Leavesley method employed in the PRMS hydrological modelling system are compared with the new method, using a total of 963 years of daily data from the 15 climate stations used for the sensitivity analyses. Four different approaches to using the two input variables (threshold temperature and range) were tested and statistically compared: mean annual variables based on the 15 stations, mean annual variables for each station, mean monthly variables for each station, and a sine curve representing seasonal variation of the variables. In almost all cases the proposed new method resulted in higher MAS‐weighted coefficients of determination, and, on average, they were significantly different from those of other methods. The paper concludes with a decision tree to help decide which method and approach to apply under a variety of data availabilities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2005年12月威海连续性暴雪的气候背景

利用1966—2005年NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和威海冬季降雪资料,对威海冬季降雪的时空分布特征以及2005年12月威海连续性暴雪的气候背景进行分析。结果表明：威海冬季降雪量呈明显的北多南少分布;12月降雪量和暴雪日数明显多于其他月份。威海市2005年12月的气候特征与威海12月降雪偏多年的气候特征非常相似,表现为东北亚大气环流经向型,中国东北、黄渤海到日本海一带500 hPa位势高度距平和850 hPa温度距平均为显著的负值中心,1000 hPa风场距平为气旋性弯曲;2005年12月的要素距平明显大于降雪偏多年。此外,2005年11月下旬黄渤海海温较常年显著偏高,为大气提供了充足能量,并造成边界层大气极不稳定;山东半岛地形抬升及其北岸的海陆风与环境风辐合,直接导致不稳定能量释放而形成威海连续性暴雪。     

2008年初我国低温雨雪冰冻灾害的气候特征

 利用中国606个时间序列超过40 a的气象台站逐日气温、降水和天气现象等资料,确定了定义低温、降雪、冰冻和多年一遇等指标的方法,对2008年初我国低温雨雪冰冻灾害的空间分布、持续时间、历史强度和灾害影响等进行了综合分析。结果表明：2008年1月中旬到2月上旬,我国长江中下游至江南地区发生了历史罕见的低温雨雪冰冻灾害,灾害发生区域的最大连续低温日数、最大连续降雪量和最大连续冰冻日数均为1951年以来历年冬季的最大值,综合各种指标统计其强度为百年一遇。此次灾害具有影响范围广、持续时间长、发生强度大等特点,对我国电力、交通、农业、林业、人民生活等方面产生了重大影响。     

运城市低温大雪冰冻过程成因分析

针对2008年1月中下旬运城市出现近50a来罕见的低温大雪冰冻天气过程的环流背景、影响系统、旬平均场等因素进行详细分析,结果表明：高纬度环流经向度大,南支槽活跃,副高偏北、偏强是造成持续低温冰冻的主要原因;而高空回暖、地面回流以及西南急流加强是造成运城强降雪的重要因素。