CLIMATOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SPRING PRECIPITATION OVER SOUTHERN CHINA AND ITS INTRASEASONAL OSCILLATION

Based on observations and reanalysis data,the characteristics of the evolution of climatological spring precipitation over Southern China(SPSC) and the associated climatological intraseasonal oscillation(CISO) and atmospheric circulation are studied.Results show that SPSC increases in an oscillatory way.Although the evolution of SPSC is similar in different regions,there are also differences.In different regions of Southern China,the onset dates of the rain season are from the 12 th to 24 th pentad and the peak dates are after the 20 th pentad.CISO is an important component of SPSC,which is not only statistically significant,but also accompanies a dynamically coherent structure.The peak wet/dry phase of each CISO cycle corresponds to a significant rainfall increasing/decreasing period and modulates the evolution of SPSC.The rainfall growth in the second half of March and mid-April is the result of the modulation.The wet/dry phase of CISO is accompanied by low-level convergent(upper-level divergent) and cyclonic(anti-cyclonic) circulation,which favors ascending motion to develop over Southern China.

Subseasonal mode of cold and wet climate in South China during the cold season: a climatological view

The authors investigate the dominant mode of climatological intraseasonal oscillation(CISO) of surface air temperature(SAT) and rainfall in China, and discuss the linkage of cold and wet climate in South China(SC) with the Arctic circulation regime during the cold season(from November to March). Results show that a positive CISO displays a cold-dry climate in North China,whereas a cold-wet pattern prevails in SC with a quasi-30-day oscillation during the peak winter season. In SC, the intraseasonal variability of SAT plays a leading role, altering the cold-wet climate by the southward shift of a cold front. Evidence shows that the circulation regime related to the cold and wet climate in SC is mainly regulated by a pair of propagating ISO modes at the500-hPa geopotential height in the negative phase of Arctic Oscillation. It is demonstrated that the local cyclonic wave activity enhances the southward movement of the Siberian high, favoring an unstable atmosphere and resulting in the cold-wet climate over SC. Therefore, the cold-air activity acts as a precursor for subseasonal rainfall forecasting in SC.