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DOI:10.2151/jmsj.2024-033
J-STAGE Advance published date: August 26, 2024
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1

The Application of Meteorological Satellite

2

Products in the Extreme Sea-effect3

Snowstorm Monitoring in East Asia

4
5

Ning NIU

6

China Meteorological Administration Training Center, China

7

Innovation Center for FengYun Meteorological Satellite (FYSIC), China

89Suling REN

10National Satellite Meteorological Center/National Center for Space Weather,11

China Meteorological Administration, China

12

Innovation Center for FengYun Meteorological Satellite (FYSIC), China

13

Key Laboratory of Radiometric Calibration and Validation for Environmental

14

Satellites, China Meteorological Administration, China

15
16

Dongyan MAO

17

National Satellite Meteorological Center/National Center for Space Weather,18

China Meteorological Administration, China

19

Innovation Center for FengYun Meteorological Satellite (FYSIC), China

20

Key Laboratory of Radiometric Calibration and Validation for Environmental

21

Satellites, China Meteorological Administration, China

22
23

Qiong WU

24

National Satellite Meteorological Center/National Center for Space Weather,25

China Meteorological Administration, China

26

Innovation Center for FengYun Meteorological Satellite (FYSIC), China
1

27

Key Laboratory of Radiometric Calibration and Validation for Environmental

28

Satellites, China Meteorological Administration, China

29

Bingyun YANG

30

National Satellite Meteorological Center/National Center for Space Weather,31

China Meteorological Administration, China

32

Innovation Center for FengYun Meteorological Satellite (FYSIC),China

33

Key Laboratory of Radiometric Calibration and Validation for Environmental

34

Satellites, China Meteorological Administration, China

35
36

and

37
38

Dorina CHYI

39

China Meteorological Administration Training Center, China

40
41(Manuscript received 14 March 2024)

42
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-----------------------------------Corresponding author: Suling Ren, National Satellite MeteorologicalCenter/National Center for Space Weather, China Meteorological
Administration, Zhongguancun Nandajie 46, Haidian District, Beijing 100081,
China
E-mail: rensl@cma.gov.cn
Tel: +86-13051921042

63
64

Abstract

65

In mid-December 2023, East Asia experienced an extreme sea-effect66

snowstorm, with snowfall intensity and snow depth breaking historical records.

67

Based on FengYun (FY) meteorological satellite datasets, the atmospheric68

circulation, the evolution of the sea-effect clouds, and the marine and69

atmospheric environments are examined. The results show that the70

temperature anomalies at 850 hPa from the polar regions to East Asia and the71

Northwest Pacific exhibited a “positive-negative-positive” pattern in early72

December, which is in favor of the polar vortex moving away from the polar

73

region to lower latitudes causing cold waves. Caused by the northerly winds

74

over the ocean the sea-effect snowstorm cloud systems exhibit as a wide

75

range of cellular cumulus moving towards the land. The weakening wind76

speed is beneficial for the maintaining of the sea-effect snowstorm. The
3

77

average cloud top temperature (CTT) of sea-effect snowstorm clouds over the

78

Shandong Peninsula is from -18 to -10°C, and the cloud top height (CTH) is

79

about 1.5 km, showing significant differences from that of the cold front

80

snowstorm

81

measurement radar (PMR) shows that the precipitation top of the cellular82

cumulus in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea is 2.0-2.5 km, and the83

maximum precipitation rate is 0.5-1.0 mm h-1. The high sea surface

84

temperature (SST) provides warm and humid conditions for the cellular85

cumulus. The colder air moving into warmer and more humid sea surface can86

result in higher development of cellular cumulus and increasing precipitation87

rate. The overall performance is characterized by the higher SST, higher

88

atmospheric humidity layers, higher temperature inversion layers, lower CTT,

89higher CTH, and greater precipitation intensity on the western coast of Honshu

90

Island in Japan compared to the Shandong Peninsula. Additionally, the91

topography has impact on the distribution and intensity of sea-effect92

snowstorm.

93

Keywords FengYun meteorological satellite; Sea-effect snowstorm; Ocean

94wind vector; Sea surface temperature; Satellite retrieved temperature and95

humidity96

1. Introduction

97

clouds.

The

precipitation

rate

from

FY-3G

precipitation

The sea-effect snowfall is a type of snowfall that occurs under specific4

98

terrain conditions in winter, where upper-level cold air interacts with warm air

99

flows over the sea or ocean (Yang and Li 2018). Lake-effect snowfall is also

100

similar to sea-effect snowfall (Li et al. 2015). The Great Lakes region of the101

United States, Japan, and Shandong Province in China are common areas

102

where this type of snowfall occurs (Petterssen and Calabrese 1959; Higuchi

103

1963; Bao and Ren 2018). Sea-effect snowfall has significant impacts on

104

urban transportation, energy security, and human safety leading to substantial

105

economic losses and thus attracting scholars' research attention.

106

Most of the sea-effect snowfall is caused by the cold air outbreaks with the107large scale atmospheric circulation evolution. Research shows that winter108

monsoon has strong impacts on East Asia via latitude-crossing southward cold109

airmass fluxes feature a large-scale dipole pattern of cold air-mass flux over110

high-latitude Eurasia consisting of an anticyclone over Siberia and a cyclone

111

over northeastern Asia (Liu et al. 2021). The sea-effect snowfall in the Sea of112

Japan coast and adjoining orography of central Honshu, Japan is related to the113

Japan Sea polar airmass convergence zone (JPCZ), which forms downstream

114

of the highland areas of the Korean Peninsula (West and Steenburgh 2022;

115

Tachibana et al. 2022; Yamazaki et al. 2023).

116

Studies on lake-effect snowfall have shown that heating provided by a few

117

degree Celsius temperature difference between the lake and the air is a key

118

contribution to lake-effect snowstorms (Lavoie 1972). The base of the119

inversion within the snow band was displaced some 0.6 km above that of the5

120

surrounding environment (Byrd et al. 1991). When wind speeds are low (2 m

121s-1) the snowfall occurs over the lake, but with increasing wind speeds the122snow band extends further inland (Hjelmfelt 1992). The occurrence of123

sea-effect snowstorm around the Bohai Sea is related to factors such as the124

land-sea temperature difference before cold air entering the sea, the sea

125

heating, the strength of boundary layer flow, and sea-induced convective

126

available potential energy (Yu 1998; Steenburgh and Nakai 2020; Inatsu et al.

1272021).

128

Topography is identified as one of the most critical factors influencing

129

sea-effect snowstorm in Shandong Province with higher snowfall along coastal

130

areas in northern mountainous and hilly regions (Yang et al. 2007), while131

snowfall significantly decreases in southern hilly regions. Research shows that132

the uplift of the terrain is conducive to the enhancement of the intensity of the133

on-shore wind convergence, then the intensity of cold flow snowfall in the134

northern part of the Shandong Peninsula is strengthened (Li et al. 2014).

135

With the development of research methods and observation data,

136

researchers have applied statistical diagnostics to study the large-scale

137

environmental background and mechanisms of sea-effect snowstorm (Liu and138

Moore 2004; Olsson et al. 2023). Radar data has been used to study the radar

139

echo characteristics during sea-effect snowstorm, showing good correlations

140

between echo height and some factors such as low-level divergence, 0-2 km

141

wind shear, and low-level temperature difference (Grecu and Olson 2008; Diao6

142

et al. 2011). Additionally, with the rapid development of meteorological143

satellites, high spatiotemporal resolution satellite data can effectively monitor

144

the distribution and intensity of the snowfall (Vasilkov et al. 2010; Palm et al.

145

2011; Zhou et al. 2016). Satellite data are also used to study the influencing

146

factors and forecasting methods of the snowfall, such as the snow depth

147(Mcginnis et al. 1975), the characteristics of snowfall cloud (Hudson and148

Warren 2007; Schlundt et al. 2013), and the lake water temperature (Grim et149

al. 2013).

150

Under the background of global warming (Xu et al. 2022), extreme

151

sea-effect snowstorm events are occurring more frequently in specific areas

152(Vealset al. 2020; Kawase et al. 2022). From 14 to 22 December 2023,

153

sea-effect snowstorm hit Shandong Province, China, and coastal areas in154

western Japan, with low temperature, significant snow accumulation, and155

widely substantial societal impacts. This snowstorm event is recognized as

156

one of the “Top Ten Weather and Climate Events in China in 2023” by China

157

Meteorological Administration (Zhu et al. 2024). In several cities in Shandong

158

Province including Wendeng, Yantai, Muping, Weihai, and Rongcheng, the159

accumulative precipitation exceeds 70 mm and the snow depth exceeds 30

160

cm. Specifically, the total precipitation reaches 115 mm with maximum snow

161

depth of 74 cm in Wendeng. There is a record breaking snow depth of 219 cm

162

in the evening of 23 December at Aomori meteorological station in Japan.

163

Figure 1 shows the East Asian and Northwest Pacific map with terrain height7

164

and some place names frequently mentioned in this article.

165

In this study, using FengYun (FY) geostationary and polar-orbiting

166

meteorological satellite cloud images and retrieval products, the global ground167

meteorological observation data, and the European Centre for Medium-range

168

Weather Forecast (ECMWF) ERA5 reanalysis data, the evolution and169

atmospheric circulation characteristics of the extreme sea-effect snowstorm

170

are analyzed. The characteristics of the sea-effect snowstorm cloud, the ocean

171

and atmospheric environmental conditions are also studied from satellite172

observations. Finally, the possible role of the topography factor in the173

sea-effects snowstorm is discussed. This study provides a demonstration for174

the application of FY meteorological satellite data in global disaster weather

175

real time monitoring and services.

176

2. Data

177

2.1 Satellite data

178

This article focuses on the application of FY meteorological satellites in

179

extreme sea-effect snowfall monitoring and warning in East Asia. Cloud

180

imagery and retrieval products from FY meteorological satellites are used.

181

FY-3G PMR data is applied for the first time providing a new method for182

monitoring sea-effect snowfall. The brief information of satellite data used in

183

this paper is listed in Table 1.
8

184

a. FY-4B cloud parameters and temperature

185

The FY-4B satellite was successfully launched in June 2021 (Zhang et al.

1862016), which is the second satellite of Chinese new generation of187

geostationary meteorological satellite in the FY-4 series. FY-4B is equipped

188with four instruments, three of which are weather-related. That is, the189

Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI), the Geostationary

190

Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS), and the Geostationary High-speed

191

Imager (GHI). On 11 April 2022, FY-4B successfully reached its geostationary

192

orbit position over the equator at 133°E. On 1 June 2022, the FY-4B entered193

the operational run, providing data and application services to global users.

194

Cloud parameters used in this study include the cloud top temperature (CTT)195

and cloud top height (CTH) from FY-4B/AGRI with a temporal resolution of 15

196

min and full-disk coverage.

197

Temperature data is from FY-4B/GIIRS. FY-4B/GIIRS is the successor

198

instrument to FY-4A/GIIRS which is the first instrument to detect

199

three-dimensional atmospheric vertical structures in geostationary orbit using

200

infrared hyperspectral interferometric spectral detection, with a radiation

201

calibration accuracy of 0.7 K. The observation region covers China and its

202

surrounding areas. The temporal resolution is 2 h starting from 0100 UTC. The

203

spatial resolution is 12 km at nadir. There are 101 vertical layers for the204

derived temperature data. The temperature data evaluation derived from

205

FY-4A/GIIRS shows an average deviation of 0.07℃ and an average absolute9206

error of 1.8℃ compared to radiosonde observations which can be used in cold207

surge monitoring under clear or slightly cloudy skies (Ren et al. 2022).

208

b. FY-3D temperature and humidity

209

The atmospheric temperature and humidity data from the FY-3D Vertical

210

Atmospheric Sounding System (VASS) are based on the Hyperspectral

211

Infrared Atmospheric Sounder, Micro-Wave Temperature Sounder, and212

Micro-Wave Humidity Sounder. With the penetrability of the microwave

213

detectors, the retrieval accuracy of atmospheric profiles below clouds is214

enhanced and improved. It can acquire global atmospheric temperature and215

humidity three-dimensional structure information twice a day (Gu et al. 2010;

216

Guo et al. 2014; Zhang et al. 2012). The FY-3D/VASS temperature and217

humidity profiles are orbital data including ascending and descending orbits.

218

The spatial resolution is 16 km and there are 43 pressure levels in vertical from219

the surface (1013.25 hPa) to the upper atmosphere (0.1 hPa). Fusion

220

processing is done to the orbit data and forms daily average grid data in

221

longitude and latitude.

222

The evaluation of FY-3D/VASS temperature at 850hPa compared with223

ERA5 data shows that the mean bias is −0.64 ℃, the mean absolute error is

224

1.09 ℃ in summer (Ren et al. 2023), and the mean bias is within 1 ℃ in

225

winter over Arctic (Ren et al. 2022). They have good consistency with more226

detailed characteristics of temperature distribution from FY-3D/VASS. The

227

ERA5 reanalysis data from 1991 to 2020 is selected as the climate average
10

228

state in this article.

229

c. FY-3E ocean wind vectors

230

The WindRAD on the FY-3E satellite is the first active remote sensing

231

instrument onboard the FY series meteorological satellites, capable of232

detecting global ocean wind vectors through combined active and passive

233

measurements. There are twice observations per day (ascending and234

descending orbits) to obtain ocean wind speed and wind direction, with the235

accuracy of 2 m s-1 for wind speed and 25º for wind direction (Zhuang et al.

2362022).

237

d. FY-3G precipitation rate

238

FY-3G satellite launched successfully on 16 April 2023 operates at a 50°

239

inclination in a non-sun-synchronous inclined orbit (Zhang et al. 2023). FY-3G

240

satellite is the first precipitation measurement satellite capable of measuring241

the three-dimensional structure of precipitation through active and passive

242

combined microwave measurements. The Precipitation Measurement Radar

243

(PMR)

244

three-dimensional droplet spectra characteristics of precipitation such as

245

typhoons, heavy rainfall, and snowfall more accurately than passive remote

246

sensing methods. It can also detect other precipitation information such as

247

precipitation phase, precipitation layer, etc. FY-3G/PMR level 2 (L2) products

248

including near-surface precipitation rate and precipitation rate profiles is used.

249

The spatial resolution is 5 km and the vertical resolution of 250 m at nadir.

is

a

newly

developed

instrument

11

that

can

observe

the

250
251

2.2 Other data
Other data introduction is listed in Table 2.

252

3. Results

253

3.1 Extreme sea-effect snowfall characteristics and atmospheric circulation

254

a. Distribution characteristics of sea-effect snowfall

255

From 10 to 20 December 2023, north China, the Korean Peninsula, and256

Japan experienced widespread rain and snow due to the impact of two strong257

cold air processes (Figure 2a). The maximum snowfall during the land process258

is mainly located in the central-eastern part of the Shandong peninsula and the259

northwestern coast of Honshu island, Japan. In some areas the accumulated

260

precipitation is more than 100 mm. National meteorological rain gauge stations

261

in Shandong Peninsula (Figure 2b) shows that the accumulated precipitation in

262

many stations exceed 30 mm with a maximum of 115 mm in Wendeng. The

263

stations location and numbers are shown in Figure 1b. The accumulated

264

precipitation in Yantai, Muping, Weihai, and Rongcheng is more than 70 mm.

265

By 22 December, the sustained precipitation ends. Throughout the whole266

snowfall process, the temperature remains consistently low with the daily

267

maximum temperature mostly below 0°C. Snowmelt is slow, and most268

observation stations records their maximum snow depth on 22 December

269(Figure 2c). The snow depth in several observation stations in the northeastern
12

270

part of Shandong Peninsula exceeds 20 cm. The record breaking maximum

271

snow depth of 74 cm is in Wendeng. The snow depth in Yantai, Muping,272

Weihai, and Rongcheng is 38, 39, 31, and 44 cm, respectively.

273

The extreme snowstorm weather in Shandong Peninsula is related to two274

cold air activities leading to cold front cloud snowfall (15 December, from 18 to275

19 December) and sea-effect snowfall (from 16 to 17 December, from 20 to 21

276

December). In order to further analyze the characteristics of snowfall cloud277

systems and temporal evolution of precipitation the time series of 1 h

278

precipitation at 12 national meteorological observation stations are shown in279

Figure 1b. The selected stations include the eastern part of Shandong

280

Peninsula frequently affected by sea-effect snowfall and the snow depth

281

exceeding 10 cm on 22 December 2023. Snowfall at various stations mainly

282

occurred in four periods from 10 to 22 December, that is,11,15, from 16 to 17,283

and from 20 to 22 December (Figure 3). On 11 December, most stations

284

experience about 3 hour continuous snowfall with the precipitation rate of 1-2

285

mm h-1. On 15 December, at most stations the maximum 1 h precipitation

286

exceeds 2 mm. Although the maximum 1 h precipitation on 16 and 17

287

December decreases slightly the precipitation duration is longer. At Wendeng

288

and Rongcheng stations the snowfall lasts about 10 hours. Similarly, from 20289

to 22 December, the precipitation also shows a long duration characteristic. At

290

Yantai and Muping stations the maximum 1 h precipitation is about 6 mm and
13

291

the snow depth exceeds 30 cm at the both stations on 22 December (Figure2922c). The snowfall on 16,17, 20, 21, and 22 December is caused by sea-effect293

under the influence of northerly cold airflow. This study will focus on the294characteristics of continuous heavy snowfall caused by sea-effect.

295

b. Characteristics of atmospheric circulation and cold air activity from mid-high296

latitudes297

The snowfall is related to the cold air activities. The average temperature298

anomaly at 850 hPa from FY-3D/VASS shows that before the snowfall (from 1299

to 9 December, Figure 4a) in the mid-latitude regions of East Asia and the300

Northwest Pacific (30ºN-50ºN; 100ºE-180ºE), the temperature is more than

301

4°C higher than the climate and up to 7°C higher in some areas. Conversely,302

the temperature is 5-8°C lower than the climate in high latitude regions of303

northern Eurasian continent (50ºN-70ºN; 100ºE-180ºE). The strongest cold304

anomaly is in northern Russia and Mongolia where the temperature is more305

than 8°C than climate mean. At the same time, there is abnormally warm in the306

polar region north of 70ºN and the northern part of the North American

307

continent. The temperature anomaly exhibits a "positive-negative-positive"

308

distribution pattern from the polar regions to East Asia and the Northwest

309

Pacific as a wave train type (Park et al, 2014). It is associated with the310

developing large-scale waves across the Eurasian continent. The center of the

311

distribution pattern is shown as "+ - +" in Figure 4a. Before the snowfall, the
14

312

Arctic region north of 70°N experiences abnormally warm conditions leading313

to weakened zonal winds in the westerly belt and intensified meridional314

circulation. From 1 to 9 December in the Arctic region from 60ºW to 100ºE the315

geopotential height at 500 hPa and sea level pressure (SLP) anomaly are316

positive (Figure 4c). The high pressure development in middle and low

317

troposphere over northwest of the Eurasian continent is conducive to leading318

the polar region cold air to its eastern side moves towards the equator and cold319

surge in East Asia (Shoji et al. 2014). This favors the movement of the polar

320

vortex from the Arctic towards lower latitudes in Northeast Eurasian continent

321

leading to cold wave (Liu et al. 2021). All of these are conducive to the322

subsequent occurrence of heavy snowfall.

323

During the snowfall (Figure 4b, 4d) from 10 to 22 December, there is a324

significant adjustment in atmospheric circulation with a weakening warm

325

anomaly north of 70ºN and a spreading cold anomaly in northeastern Eurasian326

continent. The regions north of 35ºN in China and the Northwest Pacific327

transitions from a warm to a cold anomaly, with a negative temperature328

anomaly exceeding 8°C. The geopotential height at 500 hPa and SLP anomaly329

are negative in the Arctic region but positive in East Asian exhibiting an

330

opposite distribution characteristics compared with that in early December.

331

The southward movement of cold air in the polar region of the eastern

332

hemisphere has created conditions for the sea-effect snowfall.

15

333

The main weather systems responsible for the sea-effect snowfall process334

are two strong cold air processes in mid-high latitudes and the associated335

development of cold vortices. On 17 December (Figure 5a), the vortex center336

at 500 hPa is located in the East Siberian region. The geo-potential height is337

about 508 dagpm near the vortex center, and the temperature is below -27°C

338

near the vortex center at 850 hPa. The Shandong Peninsula, the Bohai Sea,

339

and the sea areas near Honshu island, Japan are under the control of340

northwesterly air flow. The temperature at 850 hPa is from -12 to -9°C. On 21

341

December (Figure 5b), there is another cold vortex activity and its center is342

located in the Sea of Okhotsk. There is an upper level trough over the Yellow

343

Sea, the Korean Peninsula, and the western Sea of Japan. The Shandong

344

Peninsula and the Bohai Sea are under the control of northerlies turning345

north-westerlies behind the trough. The temperature at 850 hPa is ranging

346

from -18 to -12°C which is lower than that on 17 December. At this time there347

is westerly to southwesterly in Japan in front of the upper level trough. In the348

near surface layer, on 17 and 21 December, the central and eastern parts of

349

China and its coastal areas are controlled by a cold high pressure (Figure 5c350

and 5d). The 2 m temperature in the Bohai Sea and the Shandong Peninsula351

is from -8 to -4 °C, and the SLP is about 1038 hPa. The region of the SLP

352

greater than 1038 hPa on 17 December is smaller than on 21 December

353

indicating a stronger cold surge on 21 December.

16

354

c. Temperature evolution in the Bohai Sea and Shandong Peninsula355

Due to the cold air activity, the temperature significantly drops quickly in

356

Shandong Peninsula in China. Hourly temperature time series from 0000 UTC

357

8 to 1500 UTC 22 December at Yantai, Muping, Weihai, Wendeng,358

Rongcheng, and Shidao stations are analyzed (at 5 stations the accumulate359

precipitation is more than 70mm, Shidao station is located at the southeastern360of the peninsula and the accumulate precipitation is 39 mm) (Figure 6a). The

361

temperature trends at the 6 stations are similar. The temperature is slightly

362

higher at Rongcheng and Shidao stations in the southeast of the Shandong

363

Peninsula compared to the other 4 stations. The temperature reaches its peak364

around 15-20°C on 8 December and then rapidly decrease to around 0°C from365

11 to 13 December, followed by a gradual rise to around 5°C on 13 December.

366

After 15 December, the temperature drops below 0°C again. During the two367

periods of sea-effect snowfall the temperature remains below 0°C which is368

about -10°C to -5°C from 16 to 17 December and from 20 to 22 December.

369

During the interval between two sea-effect snowfall events, on 18 and 19

370

December the temperature rises up to from -5 °C to 0 °C. During both371

sea-effect snowfall events, the surface temperature remains below -5°C (the372minimum is about -10°C on 20 and 21 December) indicating the influence of373

strong cold waves.

374

The phase of precipitation is not only related to the near-surface

375

temperature but also to the temperature at lower troposphere. The
17

376

FY-4B/GIIRS 2 h interval observations (Figure 6b) show that the temperature377

evolution trend at 850 hPa is close to the surface air temperature from ground378

observations from 8 to 22 December. During the sea-effect snowfall periods379

from 16 to 17 and from 20 to 21 December, the temperature at 850 hPa is from

380

-20°C to -15°C and from -23 to -20 under the influence of cold air. The cold381

wave is stronger during 20-21 December.

382

3.2 Sea-effect snowfall cloud characteristics from satellite observation

383

a. Macroscopic characteristics of sea-effect snowfall cloud384

1) Cellular cumulus caused by cold air

385

The cold air over the Eurasian continent accompanied by the386

development of cold vortices moves southeastward. On 17 December, the387

cold vortex center at 850 hPa is located East Siberia with the 0°C contour line

388

moving southward to 30ºN. The temperature at 850 hPa is below -9 °C over389

the Bohai Sea, the northern Yellow Sea, and the Sea of Japan (Figure 5a). As390

the cold air passes over the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Sea of Japan,391

a large scale of cellular cumulus is formed due to the warming effect of the sea

392

surface (Figure 7a). The cellular cloud shapes are affected by the air-sea

393

temperature difference and ocean surface wind fields. In the west side of the

394

Yellow Sea the cellular cloud size is smaller than that in the east side. The

395

cloud band shows a “L” mode” in west side and a “T” mode in east side of the

396

Yellow Sea (Steenburgh and Nakai 2020). The cellular cumulus is oriented in a
18

397

"north-south" or "northwest-southeast" direction. Under the influence of398

post-trough northerly or northwesterly winds behind the trough, the cellular

399

cumulus surges towards the Shandong Peninsula and the western coastal

400

areas of Japan, leading to sea-effect snowfall (Murakami et al, 2024). On 21

401

December, the cold air is stronger compared to that on 17 December (Figure4025b), the temperature at 850 hPa is below -15°C over the Bohai Sea, the403

northern East China Sea, and the Sea of Japan. The widespread cellular404

cumulus continues to appear over the ocean (Figure 7b). Over the central Sea

405

of Japan the cloud patterns on 17 and 21 December are similar to cloud406

caused by the Japan Sea Polar Airmass Convergence Zone (JPCZ) with more407

developing dense clouds described by other researches (West and408

Steenburgh 2022; Tachibana et al 2022; Yamazaki et al 2023).

4092) Sea-effect snowfall cloud parameters

410

The FY-4B/AGRI observation temporal frequency is 15 min which can

411

show the continuous evolution of cloud parameters (CTT and CTH) during the412

sea-effect snowfall event (Figure 8). At 0000 UTC on 17 December, the CTT of413

the sea-effect snowfall cloud over the Shandong Peninsula is around -12°C

414

and the CTH is from1.5 to 2.0 km. On the northern side of the Bohai Sea, the415cellular cumulus CTT is slightly lower with -24°C and the CTH is from 2.5 to 3.5

416

km. There is a cloudy band from the middle of the Bohai Sea to the eastern

417

Shandong Province with higher CTH. The sea-effect snowfall cloud in the418

central Sea of Janpan and along the western coast of Honshu island, Japan
19

419

where JPCZ appears has relatively lower CTT (about -24°C), higher CTH

420(from 5.0 to 7.0 km) resulting in stronger snowfall (Figure 2a). On 21

421

December, the cold wave is stronger than that on 17 December. At 0000 UTC

422

on 21 December, the sea-effect snowfall cloud extends to the southern part of423

Shandong peninsula. The CTT is about -24°C /-12°C and the CTH is from 2.0424

to 2.5 km / from 1 to 1.5 km in the northern / southern part of Shandong

425

peninsula. At the same time, over the western coast of Honshu island in

426Japan, the CTT of the snowfall cloud is lower which is below -30°C in some427

area and the CTH is from 4 to 7 km. The development of strong cloud systems

428

along the western coast of Japan at 0000 UTC on 21 December are related to429

the upper level trough (Figure 5b) which provides westerly airflow in lower

430

level. During the two sea-effect snowfall events, the CTT is lower and the CTH

431

is higher along the western coast of Japan than that over Shandong Peninsula432

To analyze the differences between cold front cloud systems and433

sea-effect snowfall cloud systems, Figure 7 illustrates the time serials of the434

CTT and the CTH from 0000 UTC on 15 December to 2300 UTC on 22

435

December at 6 meteorological stations and the regional average (black436

rectangle area in Figure 1b, 36.5-39°N; 120-123°E) in Shandong Peninsula.

437

On 15 and 18 December, when there is cold front cloud systems, the regional438

average CTT is about -35°C to -20°C (solid black line in Figure 9a) and the439

CTH is from 3 to 7 km (solid black line in Figure 9b). Compared with the440

sea-effect snowfall cloud systems (on 17 and 21 December) under cold air
20

441

control, the cold front cloud systems have lower CTT and higher CTH. The

442

regional average CTT during the two sea-effect snowfall events on 17 and 21443

21 December is from -18 to -10°C and the CTH is about 1.5 km. There is444

relative lower CTT and higher CTH at the meteorological stations in the445

northern region (such as Yantai and Muping) which is consistent with the446

horizontal distribution trends shown in Figure 8.

447

b. Three-dimensional structure of the sea-effect Snowfall Cloud

448

During the two sea-effect snowfall events from 16 to 21 December, there449

are 3 FY-3G/PMR orbits covering the research area (Figure 10). On 16

450

December, the cold air entering the sea surface causes widespread cellular

451

cumulus over the Bohai Sea, the Shandong Peninsula, the Yellow Sea, the452

Korean Peninsula, and the Sea of Japan (figure not shown). The FY-3G/PMR

453

orbit at 1245 UTC on 16 December passes over the central part of the Sea of

454

Japan and the Yellow Sea (Figure 10a). It shows that the near surface

455

precipitation rate is from 0.4 to 3 mm h-1 and the heavier precipitation rate is456

located in the central part of the Sea of Japan. The vertical profiles at different

457

locations show that the precipitation height of cellular cumulus along line 1 in458

the central Yellow Sea is about 2 km with multiple cellular cumulus cells. The

459

maximum precipitation rate is about 0.5 mm h-1 at 1.5 km. Along line 2 in the460

central Yellow Sea the precipitation height of cellular cumulus decreases from461

3 km to 2 km from north to south with a maximum precipitation rate of 1.0-1.5

462

mm h-1. The precipitation height of cellular cumulus in the central Sea of Japan
21

463

along line 3 is relatively higher averaging about 2.5-3.0 km with higher

464

precipitation rate compared to the Yellow Sea (0.5 -1.5 mm h-1). The

465

precipitation height (2.5-3.0 km) of cellular cumulus in the central Sea of Japan466

from FY-3G/PMR is consistent with the research result of the JPCZ caused

467

cloud’s radar reflectivity greater than 5 dBZ (about 700 hPa) by numerical

468

model (West and Steenburgh 2022).

469

At 1155 UTC on 17 December, the precipitation height from FY-3G/PMR

470

is about 3 km in western Japan and along the coast (Figure 10b). Along line 2

471

and 3, the cellular cumulus is arranged in alternating rows. The precipitation472

rate along line 2 at west coast of Japan (0.5-1.5 mm h-1) is relatively stronger

473

than that along line 3 over the Sea of Japan (0.5-1.0 mm h-1). During the strong474

sea-effect snowfall at Shandong Peninsula on 21 December, the FY-3G/PMR

475

only observes cellular cumulus in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East

476

China Sea (Figure 10c). Along line1 from northwest to southeast, precipitation

477

height of cellular cumulus has a variation characteristic of increasing first and478then decreasing and ranges from 1.8 to 2.5 km, the precipitation rate is479

ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 mm h-1.

480

3.3 Ocean and atmospheric environmental conditions during the sea-effect481

snowfall482

a. Characteristics of the temperature difference between ocean and483

atmosphere
22

484

The development of sea-effect snowfall cellular cumulus over the sea is485

related to the thermal and dynamic conditions of the ocean and atmosphere.

486

During the two sea-effect snowfall events from 16 to 22 December 2023, the487

SST in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Sea of Japan shows a trend of488

low in northwest side high in southeast side with SST contour line trending

489

northeast to southwest (Figure 11a). The SST in the Bohai Sea is lower than490

that in the Sea of Japan at the same latitude with an average SST of 6-10°C in491

the Bohai Sea region and 14-16°C along the northwest coast of Sea of Japan.

492

In most areas of the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Sea of Japan there is493

positive SST anomaly (Figure 11b). The SST in the central Bohai Sea and494

northern Yellow Sea on the north side of sea-effect snowfall at the Shandong

495

Peninsula is higher by 0.5-3.0°C. In some parts of the northwest Sea of Japan

496

during the sea-effect snowfall over Honshu island the SST is more than 4°C

497

higher. The higher SST provides warm and humid conditions in the lower

498

troposphere for the development of sea-effect snowfall cellular cumulus.

499

During the two sea-effect snowfall events caused by cellular cumulus, the500

distribution of temperature difference between the atmosphere and ocean in

501

vertical direction is shown in Figure 11c and 11d. On 17 December, the502

temperature difference between 850 hPa and ocean surface in the Bohai Sea

503

and the northern Yellow Sea is from -24 to -18°C. There is greater temperature504

difference in the Sea of Japan mostly below -24°C and the maximum

505

temperature difference is around -30°C. On 21 December, influenced by
23

506

stronger cold air (Figure 5a and 5b) the temperature difference between 850

507

hPa and ocean surface further increases compared to that of on 17 December.

508

The maximum temperature difference is about -26°C in the Bohai Sea and the509

northern Yellow Sea, and is below -30°C in the Sea of Japan. The colder air

510

moving over the warmer ocean surface is more conducive to the development511

of cellular cumulus and the occurrence of sea-effect snowfall. In a whole, the512snowfall intensity on 21 December is greater than that on 17 December and513

the northeastern part of Japan experiences stronger snowfall than the eastern

514

part of the Shandong Peninsula.

515

b. Characteristics of atmospheric stratification

516

In order to further analyze the differences in snowfall intensity between

517

the western coast of Japan and the Shandong Peninsula, Figure 12 shows the518

T-lnp diagram at Rongcheng (54778) in Shandong province and Akita (47582)

519

in Japan meteorological sounding stations. At 0000 UTC on 17 and 21

520

December, the near surface temperature at the Rongcheng is -10°C and there521

is an inversion layer between 700 and 800 hPa. The temperature below 800522

hPa is close to dew point temperature and the humidity is relatively high. At

523

0000 UTC on 17 and 21 December, the near surface temperature at Akita

524

station is about 0°C and -5°C and the humid layers are at around 550 hPa and525

500 hPa respectively. The inversion layer is from 500 to 550 hPa, the height of526

the inversion layer and humid layer at the Akita station are higher than that of527

Rongcheng station. The higher humid layer is in favor of the development of
24

528

cellular cumulus to higher altitudes resulting in stronger snowfall. The humid

529

layer at Rongcheng station is only present in the lower troposphere below 800

530

hPa. The vertical wind profiles showed counter-clockwise rotation from lower531

to higher levels at both Rongcheng and Akita stations and this indicates cold532

advection. The co-existence of the inversion layer, humid layer, and cold533

advection is one of the causes of snowstorms (Zhou et al. 2016).

534

The specific humidity and temperature vertical profiles along the535

Rongcheng station at 37.4ºN (Figure 13) show that during the two sea-effect536

snowfall events, the specific humidity below 800 hPa at the Shandong

537

Peninsula is relatively higher on 17 December compared to that on 21

538

December, while the temperature is 5°C lower on 21 December at the same539

pressure level. The distribution of temperature and specific humidity result in a540

smaller temperature and dew point difference below 800 hPa on 21 December

541(Figure 12c). Therefore, the main reason for the strong snowfall in Rongcheng

542

on the 21 December is related to the intensity of the cold air. In the region of543

135-145ºE on 17 and 21 December, there are higher temperature and specific544

humidity in Japan compared to the same latitude at the Shandong Peninsula.

545

The specific humidity at 850 hPa is about 1.5-2.0 g kg-1. The atmospheric

546

stratification character is consistent with the distribution shown in the T-lnp

547

diagrams of the two meteorological stations in Figure 10.

548

c. Ocean wind vectors

549

Wind speed is an important factor in sea-effect snowfall (Cipullo 2011; Su
25

550

et al, 2007). Studies have shown that the presence of low wind speed areas in551

the eastern part of the Shandong Peninsula creates favorable conditions for552

the convergence and accumulation of moisture and energy in the blizzard area553

and the formation of convective cloud bands. The ocean wind vectors from554

FY-3E/WindRAD (Figure 14) shows that during the sea-effect snowfall period555

in the Shandong Peninsula on 16 and 17 December the wind direction shifts

556

from northwest to west-northwest with wind speed decreasing from 8-12 m s-1

557

to 4-8 m s-1 in the Bohai Sea. In the northern Yellow Sea to the north side of558

the northeastern part of the Shandong Peninsula, the wind direction changes

559

from north to north-northwest. Both of them cause on-shore winds in the560

northeastern part of the Shandong Peninsula. There is convergence of wind561

direction (Northwest wind and northeast wind) in the middle of the Bohai Sea

562

to the eastern Shandong Province and central of the Yellow Sea on 17

563

December which in favor of the high CTH. It looks like JPCZ in the Sea of564

Japan. On 20 and 21 December, there is consistent north-northwest wind in565

the Bohai Sea and northern Yellow Sea to the northern side of the Shandong

566

Peninsula with wind speeds ranging from 10-15 m s-1 to 6-12 m s-1, which is567slightly higher than that on 16 and 17 December.

568

On 16 and 17 December, in the western part of Honshu Island in Japan,569

the ocean wind direction shifts from west to northwest and the wind speed is570

decreasing from 16-22 m s-1 to 15-18 m s-1 also resulting in on-shore winds.

571

On 20 and 21 December, there is low-level convergence in the sea to the west
26

572

of Honshu Island in Japan (JPCZ). The coastal wind is shifting from west to573

northwest with wind speeds about 8-15 m s-1which is slightly smaller than that574

on 16 and 17 December.

575

4.Conclusions and Discussions

576

4.1 Main conclusions

577

In this article, the cloud imagery, cloud parameters, temperature, ocean

578

wind vectors, precipitation rate, and other retrieval products from FY

579

geostationary and polar-orbiting meteorological satellite are used to analyze

580

the sea-effect snowstorm weather events that occurred on 16-17 and 20-22

581

December 2023 in the Shandong Peninsula of China and the western part of582

Japan. The main conclusions are as follows:

583

1) The snowfall events from 10 to 22 December 2023 can be categorized

584

into frontal cloud system snowfall and sea-effect snowfall. The strong585

precipitation area is located in the eastern part of the Shandong Peninsula in

586

China and the northwestern coast of the main island of Japan. The maximum

587

accumulated precipitation in the Shandong Peninsula is 115 mm and the snow

588

depth is 74 cm. The snowfall events on 16-17 and 20-22 December are due to589

sea-effect snowfall. The temperature anomaly from FY-3D/VASS in early590

December shows a distribution pattern of “positive-negative-positive” from the591

polar regions to East Asia and the northwest Pacific. Before the snowfall event,
27

592

the anomalously warm condition is exhibited in the Arctic region north of 70ºN.

593

Weakening westerly winds and increasing meridional circulation are in favor of594

the displacement of the polar vortex moving towards lower latitudes and595

leading to cold wave weather in the northeast part of Eurasian Continent. This

596

atmospheric circulation is contributing to the subsequent occurrence of heavy

597

snowfall.

598

2) The cloud systems that triggered sea-effect snowfall display a599‘north-south’ or ‘northwest-southeast’ orientation of large-scale cellular

600

cumulus. These clouds move toward the Shandong Peninsula and the western

601

coastal areas of Japan with influence by the northerly winds or northwesterly602

winds behind the upper level trough. The average CTT is between -18 to -10°603

C and the CTH is around 1.5 km of the sea-effect snowfall cloud over the604

Shandong Peninsula, showing significant differences from the cold front

605

snowfall cloud system. During the two sea-effect snowfall events, the CTT is606

lower and the CTH is higher over the western coast of the main island of Japan607

compared to the Shandong Peninsula. The near surface precipitation rate from608

FY-3G/PMR is below 3 mm h-1 of the cellular cumulus. The three-dimensional609

structure of precipitation shows variations in the height and intensity in

610

different regions. The precipitation height of cellular cumulus over the Yellow

611

Sea and East China Sea is around 2.0-2.5 km with maximum precipitation612

rates of about 0.5-1.0 mm h-1, while the cellular cumulus over the central part613

of the Sea of Japan has relatively higher precipitation height averaging around
28

614

2.5-3.0 km with maximum precipitation rate of 0.5-1.5 mm h-1.

6153) During the two sea-effect snowfall events, the SST in the Bohai Sea,

616

Yellow Sea, and Sea of Japan is significantly higher than climate mean. The

617

SST anomaly is 0.5-3.0°C in the central Bohai Sea and northern Yellow Sea

618

to the northern side of the sea-effect snowfall over the Shandong Peninsula. In

619

the northwestern part of Honshu Island in Japan, the SST anomaly is more

620

than 4°C. The high SST provide lower-level warm and humid conditions for621

the development of the cellular cumulus causing sea-effect snowfall. The

622

temperature difference between the ocean and atmosphere over the Sea of623

Japan is greater than that over the Bohai Sea and northern Yellow Sea. The

624

stronger cold air moves over the warmer sea surface, which can result in the625

development of cellular cumulus and the sea-effect snowfall. The atmospheric

626

stratification structure shows that there is an inversion layer over the627lower-level high-humidity region. The higher humid level can favor the628

development of cellular cumulus to higher altitudes and then results in heavier

629

snowfall. The on-shore winds over the Bohai Sea, northern Yellow Sea, and630

the western Sea of Japan of the coast of western Honshu Island facilitates the631

movement of maritime cellular cumulus inland and causes snowfall. When a632

converging ocean surface wind fields like a JPCZ appears, the development of633

cloud systems become stronger.

29

634

4.2 Influence of the topography on sea-effect snowfall

635

Studies have shown that topography is one of the most important factors

636

affecting sea-effect snowfall in Shandong, China. Greater snowfall amount is637

observed in the coastal areas north of the mountains and hills, while638

significantly less snowfall is recorded in the areas south of the hills (Su et al.

6392007). The sea-effect snowfall event in eastern Shandong Peninsula in640

December 2023 occurs on the windward slopes and the altitude ranging from641

about 250-600 m (Figure 1b). The Shandong Peninsula locating to the642southern part of the Bohai Sea experiences sea-effect snowfall due to the643

heating effect of the sea surface as strong cold air from East Asia moved644

southward over the Bohai Sea. When this cold air mass reaches the northern645

part of the peninsula by northerly winds, the uplift causes by the terrain further

646

intensified the snowfall (Figure 15). The similar pattern is observed in the647western sea-effect snowfall in Honshu Island in Japan. Japan is to the eastern

648

part of the Sea of Japan, and the southeast movement of the cold air from649

Eurasian continent forms a wide range of cellular cumulus over the sea. The

650

cellular cumulus moves towards Japan by westerly winds and heavy snowfall

651

are generated under the influence of the upwind terrain and mountain uplift in652

the western region, while there is less snowfall in the eastern side of the653

mountain.

30

654

4.3 Potential application of FY meteorological satellite in extreme sea-effect655

snowfall monitoring and warning

656

This article focuses on the application of FY meteorological satellites in

657

extreme sea-effect snowfall monitoring and warning in East Asia unlike

658

previous studies those mainly used reanalysis data and ground meteorological659

observation data. Besides, FY-3G PMR data was applied for the first time

660

providing a new method for monitoring sea-effect snowfall. Cloud imagery and661

retrieval products from FY meteorological satellites are used to analyze the662

two extreme sea-effect snowfall events that occurred on 16-17 and 20-21

663

December 2023 in the Shandong Peninsula and western Japan. The data from664

FY low earth orbit (LEO, including polar-orbiting satellites such as

665

FY-3D/FY-3E and non-sun-synchronous inclined orbiting satellite such as

666

FY-3G) and geostationary (GEO, such as FY-4A and FY-4B) meteorological

667

satellites are used to analyze the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics

668

of the sea-effect snowfall cloud, and the atmospheric temperature, humidity,669

and ocean wind vector conditions conducive to the formation of sea-effect670

snowfall. In the research on the sea-effect snowfall events, meteorological671

satellite observations have advantages in observing depopulated zone and672

upper atmospheric regions. The meteorology satellite data can help to obtain673

the evolving characteristics of atmospheric activities in the earlier stage of674

sea-effect snowfall in oceans and polar regions with fewer meteorological675

observation stations. In particular, the application of FY-3G/PRM precipitation
31

676

profile products can provide better monitoring for the three-dimensional

677

microphysical structure of cloud systems during sea-effect snowfall. By the678

end of 2023, the FY-3G precipitation satellite officially entered into operational

679

service in China Meteorological Administration and provided real-time retrieval

680

products. Future research will focus on studying the cloud microphysical681

characteristics of sea-effect snowfall systems based on more satellite

682

observational data. The results in this study would enhance the understanding683

of the influencing factors, weather systems, and cloud three-dimensional

684

structures of sea-effect snowfall by air-sea interaction. Meteorological satellite

685

data also can be more deeply applied to the numerical model data

686

assimilation. The global forecasters can further improve the forecasting

687

capabilities of sea-effect snowfall weather and the monitoring level of688

hazardous marine weather conditions by utilizing the results of observation

689

data for data assimilation.

690

Data Availability Statement

691

FY-4B, FY-3D and FY-3E data is provided by China National Satellite

692

Meteorological Center, CMA, Meteorological station observation data and693

sounding observation data in China are provided by National Meteorological

694

Information Center, CMA, the ERA5 reanalysis data is provided by ECMWF

695

available at https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu, OISST data is provided by

696

NOAA

697

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/optimum-interpolation-sst,

available

32

at
and

698

GSMaP_Gauge precipitation is from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

699(JAXA).

700

Acknowledgments

701

This study was supported by Key Opening Laboratory for Northeast China

702

Cold Vortex Research program (2023SYIAEKFZD04), the National Natural

703

Science Foundation of China (42175014), and the National Key Research and704

Development Program of China (2021YFB3900400).

705

706

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41

874

List of Figures875

Fig. 1 Terrain height and place names frequently mentioned in this article in

876

East Asian and Northwest Pacific (a, shaded, unit: m), zoom in terrain height877

in Shandong Peninsula and meteorological observation station names and878

locations (b, shaded, unit: m; black rectangle, 36.5-39ºN; 120-123ºE).

879

Fig. 2 Total precipitation from 10 to 22 December 2023 (a, GSMaP total

880

precipitation; b, national station total precipitation, unit: mm) and snow depth

881

at 0000 UTC on 22 December (c, unit: cm).

882

Fig. 3 Meteorological station rain gauge 1 h precipitation time series from 10 to883

22 December 2023 (pink color indicates stations with total precipitation

884

exceeding 70 mm, unit: mm).

885

Fig. 4 FY-3D/VASS temperature anomaly at 850 hPa from 1 to 9 (a) and from886

10 to 22 (b) (shaded, unit: ℃ ), ERA5 geopotential height anomaly at 500

887

hPa (contour line, unit: dagpm) and sea level pressure anomaly (shaded,

888

unit: hPa) from 1 to 9 (c) and from 10 to 22 (d) December 2023, the climate889

mean data is ERA5 from 1991 to 2020.

890

Fig. 5 FY-3D/VASS average temperature at 850 hPa (shaded, unit: ℃) and891

ERA5 geopotential height at 500 hPa (contour line, unit: dagpm) on 17 (a)892

and 21 (b) , ERA5 temperature at 2 m (contour line, unit: ℃) and sea level893

pressure (shaded, unit: hPa) on 17 (c) and 21 (d) December 2023.

42

894

Fig. 6 Time series of 1 h temperature at meteorological stations from 0000

895

UTC on 8 December to 0000UTC on 22 December (a, unit: ℃ ) and 2 h896

temperature at 850 hPa from FY-4B/GIIRS at meteorological stations and897

regional average temperature time series at meteorological stations (b,898black line represents the regional average temperature over the black899

rectangle domain in Figure 1b, unit: ℃).

900

Fig. 7 FY-3D true color cloud imagery on 17 (a) and 21 (b) December 2023.

901

Fig.8 FY-4B CTT (unit: ℃ ) and CTH (unit: km) at 0000 UTC (a, c: 17902

December 2023, b, d: 21 December 2023 ).

903

Fig.9 Time series of the CTT (unit: ℃ ) (a) and CTH (unit: km) (b) at

904

meteorological stations and regional average (36.5-39ºN; 120-123ºE, black905

rectangular area shown in figure 2a) from 0000 UTC on15 to 2300 UTC on

906

22 December.

907

Fig. 10 Near surface and vertical cross section of precipitation rate (unit: mm908h-1) from FY-3G/PMR at 1245 UTC on 16 December (a), at 1155 UTC on 17

909

December (b), and at 1837 UTC on 21 December (c).

910

Fig.11 Average SST (unit: ℃) (a) and its anomaly (unit: ℃) (b) from 16 to 22

911

December 2023, vertical difference between FY-3D/VASS temperature at912

850 hPa and SST on 17 (c) and 21 (d) December 2023.

913

Fig. 12 T-lnp diagrams of Rongcheng station (54778) in China (a: 0000 UTC

914

on 17 December, c: 0000 UTC on 21 December) and Akita station (47582)
43

915

in Japan (b: 0000 UTC on 17 December, d: 0000 UTC on 21 December).

916

Fig. 13 Vertical profiles of FY-3D/VASS temperature (contour line, unit: ℃ )917

and specific humidity (shaded, unit: g kg-1) on 17 (a) and 21 (b) December

918

2023 along 37.17ºN.

919
920

921
922

Fig. 14 Ocean wind vectors and wind speed (shaded, unit: m s-1) from
FY-3E/WindRAD on16 (a), 17 (b), 20 (c), and 21 (d) December 2023.

Fig. 15 The total precipitation (unit: mm) on 16, 17, 20, and 21 December
2023.

923

44

924
925

(a)

926
927

(b)

928

Fig. 1 Terrain height and place names frequently mentioned in this article in

929

East Asian and Northwest Pacific (a, shaded, unit: m), zoom in terrain height930

in Shandong Peninsula and meteorological observation station names and931

locations (b, shaded, unit: m; black rectangle, 36.5-39ºN; 120-123ºE).

45

932
933

(a)

934
935

(b)

(c)

936

Fig. 2 Total precipitation from 10 to 22 December 2023 (a, GSMaP total

937

precipitation; b, national station total precipitation, unit: mm) and snow depth938

at 0000 UTC on 22 December (c, unit: cm).

939
940
941
46

942
943

Fig. 3 Meteorological station rain gauge 1 h precipitation time series from 10 to944

22 December 2023 (pink color indicates stations with total precipitation

945

exceeding 70 mm, unit: mm).

47

946

947
948

Fig. 4 FY-3D/VASS temperature anomaly at 850 hPa from 1 to 9 (a) and from949

10 to 22 (b) (shaded, unit: ℃ ), ERA5 geopotential height anomaly at 500

950hPa (contour line, unit: dagpm) and sea level pressure anomaly (shaded,

951

unit: hPa) from 1 to 9 (c) and from 10 to 22 (d) December 2023, the climate

952

mean data is ERA5 from 1991 to 2020.

953
954
48

955
956

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

957
958
959

Fig. 5 FY-3D/VASS average temperature at 850 hPa (shaded, unit: ℃) and

960

ERA5 geopotential height at 500 hPa (contour line, unit: dagpm) on 17 (a)961

and 21 (b) , ERA5 temperature at 2 m (contour line, unit: ℃) and sea level962

pressure (shaded, unit: hPa) on 17 (c) and 21 (d) December 2023.

963
964

49

965

966

967

Fig. 6 Time series of 1 h temperature at meteorological stations from 0000

968

UTC on 8 December to 0000UTC on 22 December (a, unit: ℃ ) and 2 h969

temperature at 850 hPa from FY-4B/GIIRS at meteorological stations and970

regional average temperature time series at meteorological stations (b,971black line represents the regional average temperature over the black972

rectangle domain in Figure 1b, unit: ℃).

50

973
974

(a)

975
976

(b)

977

Fig. 7 FY-3D true color cloud imagery on 17 (a) and 21 (b) December 2023.

978
979
980
981
51

982
983

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

984
985
986
987

Fig.8 FY-4B CTT (unit: ℃ ) and CTH (unit: km) at 0000 UTC (a, c: 17
December 2023, b, d: 21 December 2023 ).

988
989

(a)

52

990
991

(b)

992

Fig.9 Time series of the CTT (unit: ℃ ) (a) and CTH (unit: km) (b) at

993

meteorological stations and regional average (36.5-39ºN; 120-123ºE, black

994

rectangular area shown in figure 2a) from 0000 UTC on 15 to 2300 UTC on

995

22 December.

996
997
998

999

1000
1001

(a)
53

1002

1003
1004

(b)

1005

1006
1007

(c)

1008

Fig. 10 Near surface and vertical cross section of precipitation rate (unit: mm

1009h-1) from FY-3G/PMR at 1245 UTC on 16 December (a), at 1155 UTC on 17

1010

December (b), and at 1837 UTC on 21 December (c).

1011

54

1012
1013

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

1014
1015
1016

Fig.11 Average SST (unit: ℃) (a) and its anomaly (unit: ℃) (b) from 16 to 22

1017

December 2023, vertical difference between FY-3D/VASS temperature at1018

850 hPa and SST on 17 (c) and 21 (d) December 2023.

1019
1020
1021
1022
1023

55

1024
1025

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

1026
1027
1028

Fig. 12 T-lnp diagrams of Rongcheng station (54778) in China (a: 0000 UTC

1029

on 17 December, c: 0000 UTC on 21 December) and Akita station (47582)

1030

in Japan (b: 0000 UTC on 17 December, d: 0000 UTC on 21 December).

1031
1032

(a)

(b)

1033

Fig. 13 Vertical profiles of FY-3D/VASS temperature (contour line, unit: ℃)and

1034

specific humidity (shaded, unit: g kg-1)on 17 (a) and 21 (b) December 2023

1035

along 37.17ºN.
56

1036

1037
1038

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

1039

1040
1041
1042
1043

Fig. 14 Ocean wind vectors and wind speed (shaded, unit: m s-1) from
FY-3E/WindRAD on16 (a), 17 (b), 20 (c), and 21 (d) December 2023.

1044
1045
1046

Fig. 15 The total precipitation (unit: mm) on 16, 17, 20, and 21 December
2023.

1047
57

1048

List of Tables

1049

Table 1 The FY meteorological satellites, instruments and products used in

1050

this paper.

1051

Table 2 Other data and brief introduction.

1052
1053

Table 1 The FY meteorological satellites, instruments and products used in1054

this paper.
Satellites

Instruments

Products
Cloud Top Temperature

Advanced Geostationary
Geostationary (GEO)

FY-4B(CTT),Cloud Top Height

Radiation Imager (AGRI)(CTH)

Geostationary InterferometricTemperature

Infrared Sounder (GIIRS)Hyperspectral Infrared
Atmospheric Sounder (HIRAS)
Micro-Wave Temperature Sounder
Low

Polar-orbit

FY-3D(MWTS)
Micro-Wave Humidity Sounderearth(MWHS)

orbit

Medium Resolution Spectral(LEO)

Imager (MERSI)
FY-3E
Non-sun-synchronous inclined
orbit

FY-3G

Temperature, Humidity

True color image

Wind Radar (WindRAD)

Ocean wind vector

Precipitation Measurement Radar(PMR)

Precipitation rate

1055
1056
1057

Table 2 Other data and brief introduction.
Data Name

OISST

ERA5

Data
parameters

spatialresolution

Temporalresolution

CoverageReferences

Downloadaddress

OptimumInterpolation
Sea Surface
Temperature

0.25º×0.25º

1dGlobalOceansHuang et al.
2022

Temperature,

0.25º×0.25º

1 monthGlobalHersbach ethttps://www.nc
ei.noaa.gov/pr
oducts/optimu
m-interpolation-sst
https://cds.clim

58

Reanalysis
Data

GSMaP_G
auge
Meteorolog
ical station
observationMeteorolog
icalsounding
observatio
n datawind,
geopotential
height,potential
vorticity, sealevel pressure
Satellite
Inferred
Precipitation
Precipitation,
Surfacetemperature,
Snow depth
Temperature,
Humidity,Wind1h0.01º×0.01º1hNational
meteorologi
cal station

1h

-

12h

1058

59

al. 2020

ate.copernicus.
eu/

60ºN—60ºS，0º—360ºChina

Hou et al.
2014
Ren and
Zhang 2018https://sharaku.
eorc.jaxa.jp/GS
MaP/
http://data.cma.
cn/enRongcheng
Station,
China
and
Akita
Station,Japan

Guo andWang, 2019http://data.cma.
cn/en