Impact of the Shrinkage of Arctic Sea Ice on Eurasian Snow Cover Changes in 1979–2021

Recent research has shown that snow cover induces extreme wintertime cooling and has detrimental impacts. Although the dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice certainly has contributed to a more extreme climate, the mechanism connecting sea-ice loss to extensive snow cover is still up for debate. In this study, a significant relationship between sea ice concentration (SIC) in the Barents-Kara (B-K) seas in November and snow cover extent over Eurasia in winter (November–January) has been found based in observational datasets and through numerical experiments. The reduction in B-K sea ice gives rise to a negative phase of Arctic Oscillation (AO), a deepened East Asia trough, and a shallow trough over Europe. These circulation anomalies lead to colder-than-normal Eurasian mid-latitude temperatures, providing favorable conditions for snowfall. In addition, two prominent cyclonic anomalies near Europe and Lake Baikal affect moisture transport and its divergence, which results in increased precipitation due to moisture advection and wind convergence. Furthermore, anomalous E-P flux shows that amplified upward propagating waves associated with the low SIC could contribute to the weakening of the polar vortex and southward breakouts of cold air. This work may be helpful for further understanding and predicting the snowfall conditions in the middle latitudes.