Abstract:
Blocking refers to a class of weather phenomena appearing in the mid and high latitudes, whose characteristics are blocked airflow of persistence. Frequently found over the Pacific and Atlantic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, blocking affects severe weather in the surrounding areas with different mechanisms depending on the type of blocking patterns. Along with lots of studies about persistent weather extremes focusing on the specific types of blocking, a new categorization using Rossby wave breaking has emerged. This study aims to apply this concept to the classification of blockings over the Pacific and examine how different wave breakings specify the associated cold weather in the Korean peninsula. At the same time, we investigate a strongly developing ridge around the Pacific by designing a new detection algorithm, where a reversal method is modified to distinguish ridge-type blocking patterns. As result, Kamchatka blocking (KB) and strong ridge over the Central Pacific are observed the most frequently during 20 years (2001~2020) of the studied period, and anomalous low pressures with cold air over the Korean Peninsula are accompanied by blocking events. When it considers the Rossby wave breaking, cyclonic wave-breaking is dominant in KB, which generates low-pressure anomalies over the Korean Peninsula. However, KB with anticyclone wave breaking appears with the high-pressure anomalies over the Korean Peninsula and it generates the warm temperature anomaly. Lastly, the low-pressure anomalies are also generated by the strong ridge over the Central Pacific, which persists for approximately three days and give a significant impact on cold surge on the Korean Peninsula.

Keywords:
Blocking types over the pacific; kamchatka blocking; rossby wave breaking; ridge type blocking; cold surge

Citation:
Cho, K.-H., Lee, E.-H., & Kim, B.-M. (2023). A Study of the Blocking and Ridge over the Western North Pacific in Winter and its Impact on Cold Surge on the Korean Peninsula. Atmosphere, 33(1), 49–59.