Application of the Self-Organizing Map Method in February Temperature and Precipitation Pattern over China: Comparison between 2021 and 2022

Abstract

In this study, we compared two anomalous wet February periods in 2021 and 2022 in China. The same anomalies appeared in the spatial distribution of precipitation, with anomalous precipitation centered over the southeast coast. However, temperature discrepancies appeared in most of China, with anomalously high temperatures in 2021 and lower temperatures in 2022. Both instances of increased precipitation were attributed to warm and moist advection from the south, with transport in 2021 being partly enhanced by the South China Sea cyclone, whereas transport in 2022 was mainly due to the subtropical western North Pacific anticyclone. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to compare and analyze temperature and precipitation anomalies in February 2021 and 2022 using the self-organizing map method. Warm events in East Asia and cold events in Siberia and the Tibetan Plateau types were obtained by mode 1, which contained 2021. Mode 6 exhibited opposite warm types in Siberia and cold types in southern Asia, including February temperature and precipitation anomalies in 2022. Based on the results of this study, we can conclude that precipitation anomalies in February 2021 and 2022 occurred under different temperature and circulation anomalies, and both were influenced by La Niña events. Autumn sea ice loss in the Barents Sea contributed significantly to warm and rainy events in February 2021. However, the cold and rainy events of February 2022 were closely related to the strengthening of the Siberian High.