Abstract:In order to reveal the development mechanisms of heavy snowfall in Hebei Province,two heave snow processes on 14 to 16 March 2003 and 20 to 21 February 2004 are selected. A contrast analysis of their meteorological characteristics is made from aspect of synoptic situation and physical mechanism by means of numerical diagnosis with the NCEP reanalysis data and conventional observation data. The results show that the combination of south and north troughs with identical phase around 110°E at 500 hPa, the allocation of the surface pressure field with high in north and low in south, and the appearance of the ground inverted trough in the Hetao area of NW China, as well as the thermodynamic conditions with warm temperature tongue and warm advection in the lower troposphere, are the favorable largescale background for the formation of heavy snowfall. There are three important paths of water vapor in the two snow events: from southwest in front of the 500 hPa trough, from east at low level, and from lowlevel jet. From the cross sections of vorticity, divergence, vertical velocity and vertical helicity, it is found that the vertical distribution of convergence at low level but divergence at upper level and ascending motion in the whole troposphere benefit the forming and maintaining of heavy snowfall, and the distribution of positive vorticity (vertical helicity) in the whole troposphere is most favorable. It is also suggested the temperature descending to below 0 ℃ at both 850 hPa and 925 hPa, meanwhile below 1 ℃ in the surface, is favorable to snowing. The results can be used as reference in the forecasting heavy snowfall.
