Climatological characteristics corresponding to the occurrence of precipitation resulting in snow accretion in Japan

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  • MATSUSHITA Hiroki
    Meteorological Research Institute for Technology Co.,Ltd. present affilication Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region,Public Works Research Institute
  • NISHIO Fumihiko
    Center for Environmental Remote Sensing,Chiba University

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  • 着雪を生じる降水の気候学的特徴
  • チャクセツ オ ショウジル コウスイ ノ キコウガクテキ トクチョウ

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Abstract

We have defined wet snowfall as precipitation that results in snow accretion at temperatures exceeding 0°C and proposed a criterion for its occurrence based on the air temperature and relative humidity at ground level. The climatological characteristics corresponding to wet snowfall provided by this criterion are studied for 13 winter seasons (October 1991-May 2004) in Japan.<BR>Wet snowfall often occurred in the Japan Sea side region around Hokuriku and in inland interior region of the south part of Tohoku for an annual mean of 10-25 days. The corresponding ratio of the number of days of wet snowfall to that of precipitation exceeded 15%. In the Pacific Ocean side region corresponding to north Tohoku and east Hokkaido island, the wet snowfall ratio exceeds 10% even though the number of days of wet snowfall less than 10 every winter.<BR>In Honshu island, most wet snowfall occurs from December to March, and the maximum wet snowfall days and wet snowfall ratio corresponds to January. In Hokkaido island, wet snowfall occurs for a few days in November, December, and April, except in east Hokkaido island, where the ratio of wet snowfall is as high as 10-35% during winter season.<BR>In Hokuriku and south Tohoku, where wet snowfall is a frequent and an annual occurrence, wet snowfall occurs under the condition of weak precipitation intensity in which influence of wind speed is given. On the other hand, in regions on the Pacific Ocean side of Kanto and east Hokkaido island, where wet snowfall occurs for several days in winter, wet snowfall tends to occur with high precipitation intensity and strong wind, thereby possibly resulting in severe weather conditions due to heavy snow accretion.

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