WRF Sensitivity Experiments of the Polar Low Development Accompanied by Heavy Snowfall on 11 February 2011 to Orography Specification

Abstract

To study the effects of mountainous areas in the Korean Peninsula, and in the Japanese Islands on the polar low development over the southern part of the East Sea on 11 February 2011, a series of sensitivity experiments for full-mountain and no-mountain cases was conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The results of the sensitivity experiments showed that the existence of the northern mountainous areas in the Korean Peninsula is an essential condition for the development of this polar low and clearly indicated that the northern mountainous areas had larger effects on the development and movement paths of the polar low than the southern mountainous areas in the Korean peninsula had. In addition, it could be seen that the effects of the mountainous areas in the Japanese Islands located at the leeward side on the development and movement paths of the polar low were relatively much smaller compared to the effects of the mountainous areas in the Korean peninsula. Keywords: Polar Low, Sensitivity Experiments, Heavy Snowfall, WRF, Orographic Effect