Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (1): 9-18.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.01.02

• Weather and Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis of winter snowfall variability and its influencing factors on the north slopes of the middle Tianshan Mountains

MIAO Yunling1(),YU Yongbo1,HUO Da1,PAN Cunliang2,LI Ruqi3()   

  1. 1. Urumqi Meteorological Bureau, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
    2. Hami Meteorological Bureau, Hami 839000, Xinjiang, China
    3. Xinjiang Meteorological Observatory, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-04-07 Revised:2022-06-10 Online:2023-01-15 Published:2023-02-24

Abstract:

Based on the observation data of daily precipitation and temperature elements in winter from 1978 to 2020 from 17 national meteorological stations, the spatial-temporal variation characteristics of winter snowfall and its relationship with meteorological factors in the economic belt on the north slope of the middle Tianshan Mountains were analyzed by using various statistical methods. The results show that: The regional distribution of snowfall days and snowfall amount is similar, showing the distribution characteristics of ‘more urban areas, less mountainous areas’. The decrease of light snow days is the direct reason for the decrease of total snow days, while the significant increase of moderate snow and blizzard is the main reason for the increase of total snowfall. The precipitation process lasting for 1 day is the main snowfall process in winter. With the increase of the duration, the precipitation process decreases significantly, and the precipitation process ≥ 5 days only accounts for 2.8%; In the past 43 years, the climate on the north slope of Tianshan Mountains has shown an obvious warming and humidifying trend. In 1987 and 1994, the amount of snowfall changed from less to more and the average temperature changed from lower to higher; The amount of snowfall is significantly and positively correlated with the annual precipitation, the average minimum temperature in winter, and the number of snowfall days. The greater the annual precipitation, the lower the minimum temperature in winter, and the more snowfall days, the greater the amount of snowfall in winter, and vice versa.

Key words: snowfall of different orders, spatial and temporal distribution, persistent, the north slope of the middle Tianshan Mountains