Abstract
From 17 November to 27 December 2022, extremely cold snowstorms frequently swept across North America and Eurasia. Diagnostic analysis reveals that these extreme cold events were closely related to the establishment of blocking circulations. Alaska Blocking (AB) and subsequent Ural Blocking (UB) episodes are linked to the phase transition of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and represent the main atmospheric regimes in the Northern Hemisphere. The downstream dispersion and propagation of Rossby wave packets from Alaska to East Asia provide a large-scale connection between AB and UB episodes. Based on the nonlinear multi-scale interaction (NMI) model, we found that the meridional potential vorticity gradient (PVy) in November and December of 2022 was anomalously weak in the mid-high latitudes from North America to Eurasia and provided a favorable background for the prolonged maintenance of UB and AB events and the generation of associated severe extreme snowstorms. However, the difference in the UB in terms of its persistence, location, and strength between November and December is related to the positive (negative) NAO in November (December). During the La Niña winter of 2022, the UB and AB events are related to the downward propagation of stratospheric anomalies, in addition to contributions by La Niña and low Arctic sea ice concentrations as they pertain to reducing PVy in mid-latitudes.
摘要
2022 年 11 月至 12 月, 频繁的极寒和暴风雪天气席卷了北美和欧亚大陆. 结果显示, 这些极寒天气与阻塞环流的频繁建立密切相关. 阿拉斯加阻塞(AB)和乌拉尔阻塞(UB)以及伴随的北大西洋涛动(NAO)位相转换是北半球极寒天气产生的主要环流型. 而北美到东亚频繁的罗斯贝波向下游的能量频散和传播为这两个地区的阻塞环流建立了联系. 基于非线性多尺度相互作用理论模型, 发现 2022 年 11 月至 12 月北美至欧亚中高纬度地区异常减弱的经向位涡梯度是 UB 和 AB 长时间维持的关键背景条件, 而水汽输送则为极端暴雪的产生提供了丰富的水汽条件. 此外, 也发现 11 月和 12 月 UB 在持续时间、 位置和强度上的差异与 NAO 的位相转换有关. 2022 年冬季, 平流层异常信号的下传对 AB 和 UB 的发展也有重要影响, 而拉尼娜和北极低海冰状态的结合有利于中纬度经向位涡梯度的减小.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41975068, 42150204, 42288101, 42075024, and 41830969). We thank Dr. W. Q. ZHANG for constructive discussions regarding the calculations.
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Yao, Y., Zhuo, W., Gong, Z. et al. Extreme Cold Events in North America and Eurasia in November-December 2022: A Potential Vorticity Gradient Perspective. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 40, 953–962 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-023-2384-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-023-2384-3
Key words
- successive cold extremes
- atmospheric blocking
- NAO
- potential vorticity gradient
- water vapor backward tracking
- Arctic sea ice
- La Niña