Abstract
We investigate the characteristics and mechanisms of persistent wet-cold events (PWCEs) with different types of cold-air paths. Results show that the cumulative single-station frequency of the PWCEs in the western part of South China is higher than that in the eastern part. The pattern of single-station frequency of the PWCEs are “Yangtze River (YR) uniform” and “east–west inverse”. The YR uniform pattern is the dominant mode, so we focus on this pattern. The cold-air paths for PWCEs of the YR uniform pattern are divided into three types—namely, the west, northwest and north types—among which the west type accounts for the largest proportion. The differences in atmospheric circulation of the PWCEs under the three types of paths are obvious. The thermal inversion layer in the lower troposphere is favorable for precipitation during the PWCEs. The positive water vapor budget for the three types of PWCEs mainly appears at the southern boundary.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFC1505602), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41705055), the Graduate Innovation Project of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. CXZZ11_0485), the Creative Teams of Jiangsu Qinglan Project, and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD). In addition, we are grateful for the constructive comments of the two reviewers.
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Article Highlights
• The characteristics of persistent wet–cold events (PWCEs) in South China during winter from 1951 to 2019 are investigated.
• The cold-air paths for the PWCEs of the dominant mode in South China are classified into west, northwest, and north types.
• The differences in circulation characteristics and dynamical circulation signals of PWCEs with different cold air paths are investigated.
• The circulation conditions favoring precipitation are discussed.
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Sun, X., Chen, L., Lu, C. et al. Characteristics and Mechanisms of Persistent Wet–Cold Events with Different Cold-air Paths in South China. Adv. Atmos. Sci. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-023-3088-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-023-3088-4