A Study on the Change of Heavy Snow Strength by SST in Influence of Continental Polar Air Mass

Abstract

AbstractThe results of the synoptic meteorological analysis showed that when the cold and dry continental high pressure wasextended, heavy snow occurred at dawn when the upper atmosphere cooled. In particular, when the continental highpressure was extended and the upper pressure trough passed through, heavy snow occurred due to the convergence regionformed in the west coast area, sometimes in the inland of the Honam area. In addition, it was verified that the changesin the humidity coefficients in the upper and lower layers are important data for the determination of the probability, start/end and intensity of heavy snow. However, when the area was influenced by the middle-latitude low pressure, the heavysnow was influenced by the wind in the lower layer (925 hPa and 850 hPa), the equivalent potential temperature, theconvergence field, the moisture convergence and the topography. In Case 2010 (30 December 2010), OSTIA had the bestnumerical simulation with diverse atmospheric conditions, and the maximum difference in the numerically simulatedsnowfall between NCEP/NCAR SST and OSTIA was 20 cm. Although there was a regional difference in the snowfallaccording to the difference in the SST, OSTIA and RTG SST numerical tests, it was not as significant as in the previousresults. A higher SST led to the numerical simulation of larger snowfall, and the difference was greatest near Buan inthe west coast area.Key words: Continental High Pressure, Heavy Snow, OSTIA, RTG SST