Analysis of Synoptic Patterns of Abnormally High Number of Typhoons Affecting the Korean Peninsula in 2019

Tropical cyclones (TCs) over the western North Pacific (WNP) mainly occur during June-October, and result in significant casualties and damages to property in East Asian countries (e.g., Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China, etc.). Although the total number of TCs that occurred over WNP was similar to normal years, the numer of TCs that affected Korea in August and September 2019 was 3 times higher than with the same number of TCs in July. Therefore, this study examined why more TCs migrated into Korea in 2019 through analyzing four environmental conditions: steering flow, geopotential height at 500 hPa, vertical wind shear (VWS), and sea surface temperature (SST). Results showed that the tracks of TCs were significantly associated with steering flows from July to September. Furthermore, weaker VWS and warmer SST were distributed near the tracks of TCs during August and September, whereas strong VWS and lower SST were dominant in July. The environmental conditions in August and September were favorable for maintaining and developing TCs, explaining why more typhoons have affected Korea during August and September in 2019.