THE MICROPHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF SNOW CLOUDS AND THE GROWTH PROCESS OF SNOW PARTICLES IN WINTER IN XINJIANG

The microphysical structure of snow clouds and the growth process of snow crystals were observed by means of instrumented aircraft,weather radar,snow crystal observations etc.in Urumqi region during the winter of 1982.The analysis of three cases show that about 70% of snow mass growth is produced in the lower layer below 2000 m under the cold front,and that the concentration of ice crystals is as high as 60 L-1 and the supercooled water is absent in lower clouds.We may infer that the deposition of ice crystals and the aggregation of snow crystals are important processes for the snow development.The microphysical structure of the snow band near the front aloft and its characteristics as a seeder cloud are also described in this paper.