Structure of Two Adjacent Shear Lines Accompanied by Wind Gusts in the Japan Sea Coastal Region during a Cold-Air Outbreak on 12 December 2010

Abstract

Two adjacent shear lines accompanied by wind gusts exceeding 20 m s^-1 passed over the Shonai region on the Japan Sea coast during a moderate cold-air outbreak on 12 December 2010. The structure of the shear lines were examined using simulation results and observational data including high-frequency upper-air soundings. Simulation results revealed that cold-airmass outflow from the Eurasian Continent had a split-flow pattern due to the blocking effect of the Changbai Mountains. One is from the south side of the mountains (SCF), and the other is from the north side (NCF). NCF also has two streams: a shallow southward-meandering flow on the south and a slightly deeper straight flow on the north. A shallow shear line was formed between SCF and the shallow southward-meandering flow of NCF. The deeper straight flow of NCF sharply formed another shear line on the north at around 1-km height with SCF. This result implies that the shear lines accompanied by wind gusts on the Japan Sea coast during a cold-air outbreak have various structures and that the horizontal wind shear a little above the surface could cause surface wind gusts.