Climatic Features of Extratropical Cyclones During the Spring-time Yellow Dust Events in Korea

Abstract

The yellow dust events in Korea are often associated with extratropical cyclones (ETCs) that travel across the source regions of yellow dusts. Although such synoptic patterns are well documented, climatic features of ETCs themselves during the yellow dust events are not well understood. The present study reports climatic features of spring-time ETCs, which accompany the yellow dust events in Korea, by tracking individual ETCs with an automated tracking algorithm. By analyzing Lagrangian tracks of ETCs from 1979 to 2014, it is found that, during yellow dust events, ETCs are located around Vladivostok, Russia. They are typically originated from the leeside of Altai-Sayan mountains about three days before the onset of the yellow dust events, and travel either eastward or southeastward in time. While their tracks are not unusual, they grow faster over the source regions of the yellow dusts, possibly lifting desert dusts above the planetary boundary layer, and further develop slowly as they travel eastward.