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2022 Vol. 39, No. 4

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2022-4 Contents
2022, 39(4): 1-1.
Abstract:
Editorial Notes
Preface to the Special Issue on Extreme Cold Events from East Asia to North America in Winter 2020/21
Mu MU, Dehai LUO, Fei ZHENG
2022, 39(4): 543-545. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1004-3
Abstract:
News & Views
The 2020/21 Extremely Cold Winter in China Influenced by the Synergistic Effect of La Niña and Warm Arctic
Fei ZHENG, Yuan YUAN, Yihui DING, Kexin LI, Xianghui FANG, Yuheng ZHAO, Yue SUN, Jiang ZHU, Zongjian KE, Ji WANG, Xiaolong JIA
2022, 39(4): 546-552. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1033-y
Abstract:
In the first half of winter 2020/21, China has experienced an extremely cold period across both northern and southern regions, with record-breaking low temperatures set in many stations of China. Meanwhile, a moderate La Niña event which exceeded both oceanic and atmospheric thresholds began in August 2020 and in a few months developed into its mature phase, just prior to the 2020/21 winter. In this report, the mid−high-latitude large-scale atmospheric circulation anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere, which were forced by the negative phase of Arctic Oscillation, a strengthened Siberian High, an intensified Ural High and a deepened East Asian Trough, are considered to be the direct reason for the frequent cold surges in winter 2020/21. At the same time, the synergistic effect of the warm Arctic and the cold tropical Pacific (La Niña) provided an indispensable background, at a hemispheric scale, to intensify the atmospheric circulation anomalies in middle-to-high latitudes. In the end, a most recent La Niña prediction is provided and the on-coming evolution of climate is discussed for the remaining part of the 2020/21 winter for the purpose of future decision-making and early warning.
Extreme Cold Events from East Asia to North America in Winter 2020/21: Comparisons, Causes, and Future Implications
Xiangdong ZHANG, Yunfei FU, Zhe HAN, James E. OVERLAND, Annette RINKE, Han TANG, Timo VIHMA, Muyin WANG
2022, 39(4): 553-565. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1229-1
Abstract:
Three striking and impactful extreme cold weather events successively occurred across East Asia and North America during the mid-winter of 2020/21. These events open a new window to detect possible underlying physical processes. The analysis here indicates that the occurrences of the three events resulted from integrated effects of a concurrence of anomalous thermal conditions in three oceans and interactive Arctic-lower latitude atmospheric circulation processes, which were linked and influenced by one major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW). The North Atlantic warm blob initiated an increased poleward transient eddy heat flux, reducing the Barents-Kara seas sea ice over a warmed ocean and disrupting the stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) to induce the major SSW. The Rossby wave trains excited by the North Atlantic warm blob and the tropical Pacific La Nina interacted with the Arctic tropospheric circulation anomalies or the tropospheric polar vortex to provide dynamic settings, steering cold polar air outbreaks. The long memory of the retreated sea ice with the underlying warm ocean and the amplified tropospheric blocking highs from the midlatitudes to the Arctic intermittently fueled the increased transient eddy heat flux to sustain the SSW over a long time period. The displaced or split SPV centers associated with the SSW played crucial roles in substantially intensifying the tropospheric circulation anomalies and moving the jet stream to the far south to cause cold air outbreaks to a rarely observed extreme state. The results have significant implications for increasing prediction skill and improving policy decision making to enhance resilience in “One Health, One Future”.
The Nature and Predictability of the East Asian Extreme Cold Events of 2020/21
Guokun DAI, Chunxiang LI, Zhe HAN, Dehai LUO, Yao YAO
2022, 39(4): 566-575. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1057-3
Abstract:
Three extreme cold events invaded China during the early winter period between December 2020 to mid-January 2021 and caused drastic temperature drops, setting new low-temperature records at many stations during 6−8 January 2021. These cold events occurred under background conditions of low Arctic sea ice extent and a La Niña event. This is somewhat expected since the coupled effect of large Arctic sea ice loss in autumn and sea surface temperature cooling in the tropical Pacific usually favors cold event occurrences in Eurasia. Further diagnosis reveals that the first cold event is related to the southward movement of the polar vortex and the second one is related to a continent-wide ridge, while both the southward polar vortex and the Asian blocking are crucial for the third event. Here, we evaluate the forecast skill for these three events utilizing the operational forecasts from the ECMWF model. We find that the third event had the highest predictability since it achieves the best skill in forecasting the East Asian cooling among the three events. Therefore, the predictability of these cold events, as well as their relationships with the atmospheric initial conditions, Arctic sea ice, and La Niña deserve further investigation.
Original Paper
Influence of Major Stratospheric Sudden Warming on the Unprecedented Cold Wave in East Asia in January 2021
Yingxian ZHANG, Dong SI, Yihui DING, Dabang JIANG, Qingquan LI, Guofu WANG
2022, 39(4): 576-590. doi: 10.1007/s00376-022-1318-9
Abstract:
An unprecedented cold wave intruded into East Asia in early January 2021 and led to record-breaking or historical extreme low temperatures over vast regions. This study shows that a major stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) event at the beginning of January 2021 exerted an important influence on this cold wave. The major SSW event occurred on 2 January 2021 and subsequently led to the displacement of the stratospheric polar vortex to the East Asian side. Moreover, the SSW event induced the stratospheric warming signal to propagate downward to the mid-to-lower troposphere, which not only enhanced the blocking in the Urals–Siberia region and the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation, but also shifted the tropospheric polar vortex off the pole. The displaced tropospheric polar vortex, Ural blocking, and another downstream blocking ridge over western North America formed a distinct inverted omega-shaped circulation pattern (IOCP) in the East Asia–North Pacific sector. This IOCP was the most direct and impactful atmospheric pattern causing the cold wave in East Asia. The IOCP triggered a meridional cell with an upward branch in East Asia and a downward branch in Siberia. The meridional cell intensified the Siberian high and low-level northerly winds, which also favored the invasion of the cold wave into East Asia. Hence, the SSW event and tropospheric circulations such as the IOCP, negative phase of Arctic Oscillation, Ural blocking, enhanced Siberian high, and eastward propagation of Rossby wave eventually induced the outbreak of an unprecedented cold wave in East Asia in early January 2021.
On the Two Successive Supercold Waves Straddling the End of 2020 and the Beginning of 2021
Cholaw BUEH, Jingbei PENG, Dawei LIN, Bomin CHEN
2022, 39(4): 591-608. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1107-x
Abstract:
Two supercold waves straddling 2020 and 2021 successively hit China and caused record-breaking extremely low temperatures. In this study, the distinct features of these two supercold waves are analyzed on the medium-range time scale. The blocking pattern from the Kara Sea to Lake Baikal characterized the first cold wave, while the large-scale tilted ridge and trough over the Asian continent featured the second cold wave. Prior to the cold waves, both the northwest and hyperpolar paths of cold air contributed to a zonally extensive cold air accumulation in the key region of Siberia. This might be the primary reason why strong and extensive supercold waves occur even under the Arctic amplification background. The two cold waves straddling 2020 and 2021 exhibited distinct features: (1) the blocking circulation occurred to the north or the east of the Ural Mountains and was not confined only to the Ural Mountains as it was for the earlier cold waves; (2) the collocation of the Asian blocking pattern and the polar vortex deflection towards East Asia preferred the hyperpolar path of cold air accumulation and the subsequent southward outburst; and (3) both high- and low-frequency processes worked in concert, leading to the very intense cold waves. The cold air advance along the northwest path, which coincides with the southeastward intrusion of the Siberian High (SH) front edge, is associated with the high-frequency process, while the cold air movement along the hyperpolar path, which is close to the eastern edge of the SH, is controlled by the low-frequency process.
Seasonal Cumulative Effect of Ural Blocking Episodes on the Frequent Cold events in China during the Early Winter of 2020/21
Yao YAO, Wenqi ZHANG, Dehai LUO, Linhao ZHONG, Lin PEI
2022, 39(4): 609-624. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1100-4
Abstract:
Starting in mid-November, China was hit by several cold events during the early winter of 2020/21. The lowest temperature observed at Beijing station on 7 January reached −19.6°C. In this paper, we show that the outbreak of the record-breaking extreme cold event can be attributed to a huge merging Ural blocking (UB) ridge over the Eurasian region. The sea-ice cover in the Kara and East Siberia Seas (KESS) in autumn was at its lowest value since 1979, which could have served as a precursor signal. Further analysis shows that several successive UB episodes occurred from 1 September 2020 to 10 January 2021. The persistent UB that occurred in late September/early October 2020 may have made an important contribution to the October historical minimum of sea ice in the KESS region. Our results also show that, after each UB episode in winter, significant upward propagation of wave activity occurred around 60°E, which resulted in weakening the stratospheric vortex. Meanwhile, each UB episode also caused a significant reduction in sea-ice extent in KESS and a significant weakening of the westerly jet in mid–high-latitude Eurasia. Results suggest that the Arctic vortex, which is supposed to enhance seasonally, became weaker and more unstable than the climatic mean under the seasonal cumulative effects of UB episodes, KESS warming, and long-lasting negative-phase North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO–). Those seasonal cumulative effects, combined with the impact of La Niña winter, led to the frequent occurrence of extreme cold events.
Influence of the NAO on Wintertime Surface Air Temperature over East Asia: Multidecadal Variability and Decadal Prediction
Jianping LI, Tiejun XIE, Xinxin TANG, Hao WANG, Cheng SUN, Juan FENG, Fei ZHENG, Ruiqiang DING
2022, 39(4): 625-642. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1075-1
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate the influence of the winter NAO on the multidecadal variability of winter East Asian surface air temperature (EASAT) and EASAT decadal prediction. The observational analysis shows that the winter EASAT and East Asian minimum SAT (EAmSAT) display strong in-phase fluctuations and a significant 60–80-year multidecadal variability, apart from a long-term warming trend. The winter EASAT experienced a decreasing trend in the last two decades, which is consistent with the occurrence of extremely cold events in East Asia winters in recent years. The winter NAO leads the detrended winter EASAT by 12–18 years with the greatest significant positive correlation at the lead time of 15 years. Further analysis shows that ENSO may affect winter EASAT interannual variability, but does not affect the robust lead relationship between the winter NAO and EASAT. We present the coupled oceanic-atmospheric bridge (COAB) mechanism of the NAO influences on winter EASAT multidecadal variability through its accumulated delayed effect of ~15 years on the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and Africa–Asia multidecadal teleconnection (AAMT) pattern. An NAO-based linear model for predicting winter decadal EASAT is constructed on the principle of the COAB mechanism, with good hindcast performance. The winter EASAT for 2020–34 is predicted to keep on fluctuating downward until ~2025, implying a high probability of occurrence of extremely cold events in coming winters in East Asia, followed by a sudden turn towards sharp warming. The predicted 2020/21 winter EASAT is almost the same as the 2019/20 winter.
An Isentropic Mass Circulation View on the Extreme Cold Events in the 2020/21 Winter
Yueyue YU, Yafei LI, Rongcai REN, Ming CAI, Zhaoyong GUAN, Wei HUANG
2022, 39(4): 643-657. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1289-2
Abstract:
Three extreme cold events successively occurred across East Asia and North America in the 2020/21 winter. This study investigates the underlying mechanisms of these record-breaking persistent cold events from the isentropic mass circulation (IMC) perspective. Results show that the midlatitude cold surface temperature anomalies always co-occurred with the high-latitude warm anomalies, and this was closely related to the strengthening of the low-level equatorward cold air branch of the IMC, particularly along the climatological cold air routes over East Asia and North America. Specifically, the two cold surges over East Asia in early winter were results of intensification of cold air transport there, influenced by the Arctic sea ice loss in autumn. The weakened cold air transport over North America associated with warmer northeastern Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) explained the concurrent anomalous warmth there. This enhanced a wavenumber-1 pattern and upward wave propagation, inducing a simultaneous and long-lasting stronger poleward warm air branch (WB) of the IMC in the stratosphere and hence a displacement-type Stratospheric Sudden Warming (SSW) event on 4 January. The WB-induced increase in the air mass transported into the polar stratosphere was followed by intensification of the equatorward cold branch, hence promoting the occurrence of two extreme cold events respectively over East Asia in the beginning of January and over North America in February. Results do not yield a robust direct linkage from La Niña to the SSW event, IMC changes, and cold events, though the extratropical warm SSTs are found to contribute to the February cold surge in North America.
The Predictability of Ocean Environments that Contributed to the 2020/21 Extreme Cold Events in China: 2020/21 La Niña and 2020 Arctic Sea Ice Loss
Fei ZHENG, Ji-Ping LIU, Xiang-Hui FANG, Mi-Rong SONG, Chao-Yuan YANG, Yuan YUAN, Ke-Xin LI, Ji WANG, Jiang ZHU
2022, 39(4): 658-672. doi: 10.1007/s00376-021-1130-y
Abstract:
Several consecutive extreme cold events impacted China during the first half of winter 2020/21, breaking the low-temperature records in many cities. How to make accurate climate predictions of extreme cold events is still an urgent issue. The synergistic effect of the warm Arctic and cold tropical Pacific has been demonstrated to intensify the intrusions of cold air from polar regions into middle-high latitudes, further influencing the cold conditions in China. However, climate models failed to predict these two ocean environments at expected lead times. Most seasonal climate forecasts only predicted the 2020/21 La Niña after the signal had already become apparent and significantly underestimated the observed Arctic sea ice loss in autumn 2020 with a 1–2 month advancement. In this work, the corresponding physical factors that may help improve the accuracy of seasonal climate predictions are further explored. For the 2020/21 La Niña prediction, through sensitivity experiments involving different atmospheric–oceanic initial conditions, the predominant southeasterly wind anomalies over the equatorial Pacific in spring of 2020 are diagnosed to play an irreplaceable role in triggering this cold event. A reasonable inclusion of atmospheric surface winds into the initialization will help the model predict La Niña development from the early spring of 2020. For predicting the Arctic sea ice loss in autumn 2020, an anomalously cyclonic circulation from the central Arctic Ocean predicted by the model, which swept abnormally hot air over Siberia into the Arctic Ocean, is recognized as an important contributor to successfully predicting the minimum Arctic sea ice extent.