Effects of Meteorological Conditions on Cloud and Snowfall Simulations in the Yeongdong Region: A Case Study Based on Ideal Experiments

This study uses a cloud-resolving storm simulator (CReSS) to understand the individual effect of determinant meteorological factors on snowfall characteristics in the Yeongdong region based on the rawinsonde soundings for two snowfall cases that occurred on 23 February (Episode 1) and 13 December (Episode 2) 2016; one has a single-layered cloud and the other has two-layered cloud structure. The observed cloud and precipitation (snow crystal) features were well represented by a CReSS model. The first ideal experiment with a decrease in low-level temperature for Episode 1 indicates that total precipitation amount was decreased by 19% (26 similar to 27% in graupel and 53 similar to 67% in snow) compared with the control experiment. In the ideal experiment that the upper-level wind direction was changed from westerly to easterly, although total precipitation was decreased for Episode 1, precipitation was intensified over the southwestern side (specifically in terrain experiment) of the sounding point (128.855 degrees E, 37.805 degrees N). In contrast, the precipitation for Episode 2 was increased by 2.3 times greater than the control experiment under terrain condition. The experimental results imply that the low-level temperature and upper-level dynamics could change the location and characteristics of precipitation in the Yeongdong region. However, the difference in precipitation between the single-layered experiment and control (two-layered) experiment for Episode 2 was negligible to attribute it to the effect of upper-level cloud. The current results could be used for the development of guidance of snowfall forecast in this region.