Analysis of Simulated Heavy Rain over the Yangtze River Valley During 11-30 June 1998 Using RIEMS

RIEMS' ability to simulate extreme monsoon rainfall is examined using the 18-month (April 1997 September 1998) integrated results. Model-simulated heavy precipitation over the Yangtze River valley during 11-30 June 1998 is compared with the observation, and the relationships between this heavy rainfall process and the large-scale circulations, such as the westerly jet, low-level jet, and water vapor transport, are analyzed to further understand the mechanisms for simulating heavy monsoon rainfall. The analysis results show that (1) RIEMS can reproduce the pattern of heavy precipitation over the Yangtze River valley during 11-30 June 1998, but it is shifted northwestwards. (2) The simulated West Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) that controls the East Asia Monsoon evolution is stronger than the observation and is extended westwards, which possibly leads to the north westward shift of the heavy rain belt. (3) The Westerly jet at 200 hPa and the Low-level jet at 850 hPa, both of which are related to the heavy monsoon rainfall, are reasonably reproduced by RIEMS during 11-30 June 1998, although the intensities of the simulated Westerly/Low-level jets are strong and the location of the Westerly jet leans to the southeast, which may be the causes of RIEMS producing too much heavy rainfall in the north of the Yangtze River valley.

The Influences of Boundary Layer Parameterization Schemes on Mesoscale Heavy Rain System

The mesoscale numerical weather prediction model (MM4) in which the computations of the turbulent exchange coefficient in the boundary layer and surface fluxes are improved, is used to study the influences of boundary layer parameterization schemes on the predictive results of the mesoscale model. Seven different experiment schemes (including the original MM4 model) designed in this paper are tested by the observational data of several heavy rain cases so as to find an improved boundary layer parameterization scheme in the mesoscale meteorological model. The results show that all the seven different boundary layer parameterization schemes have some influences on the forecasts of precipitation intensity, distribution of rain area, vertical velocity, vorticity and divergence fields, and the improved schemes in this paper can improve the precipitation forecast. Key words Boundary layer parameterization - Mesoscale numerical weather prediction (MNWP) - Turbulent exchange coefficient - Surface fluxes - Heavy rain This paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49875005 and No. 49735180).

Kinematic Structure of a Heavy Rain Event from Dual-Doppler Radar Observations

The detailed kinematic structure of a heavy rain event that occurred in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was investigated using dual-Doppler radar observation. A variational analysis method was developed to obtain the three-dimensional wind fields. Before the analysis, a data preprocessing procedure was carried out, in which the temporal variation with the scanning time interval and the effect of the earth curvature on the data position were taken into account. The analysis shows that a shear line in the lower and middle levels played an important role in the rainfall event. The precipitation fell mainly on the south end of the shear line where southerly flow prevailed and convergence and updraft were obvious. With the movement and decay of the shear line, the precipitation moved and decayed correspondingly.

Study on Moist Potential Vorticity and Symmetric Instabilityduring a Heavy Rain Event Occurred inthe Jiang-Huai Valleys

In the light of the theory on moist potential vorticity (MPV) investigation was undertaken of the 700 hPa vertical (horizontal) component MP1 (MPV2) for the heavy rain event occurring in July 5–6, 1991. Results show that the distribution features of the two components were closely related to the development of a mesoscale cyclone as a rainstorm-causing weather system in the lower troposphere in such a way that the ambient atmosphere of which MPV1 > 0 and MPV2 < 0 with |MPV1| ≥ |MPV2| favored the genesis of conditional symmetric instability (CSI) and that, as indicated by calculations, a CSI sector was really existent in the lower troposphere during the heavy rain happening and contributed greatly to its development.

A Study on Water Vapor Transport and Budget of Heavy Rain in Northeast China

The characteristics of moisture transport and budget of widespread heavy rain and local heavy rain events in Northeast China are studied using the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis 6-hourly and daily data and daily precipitation data of 200 stations in Northeast China from 1961-2005. The results demonstrate that during periods with widespread heavy rain in Northeast China, the Asian monsoon is very active and the monsoonal northward moisture transport is strengthened significantly. The widespread heavy rainfall obtains enhanced water vapor supply from large regions where the water vapor mainly originates from the Asian monsoon areas, which include the East Asian subtropical monsoon area, the South China Sea, and the southeast and southwest tropical monsoon regions. There are several branches of monsoonal moisture current converging on East China and its coastal areas, where they are strengthened and then continue northward into Northeast China. Thus, the enhanced northward monsoonal moisture transport is the key to the widespread heavy rain in Northeast China. In contrast, local heavy rainfall in Northeast China derives water vapor from limited areas, transported by the westerlies. Local evaporation also plays an important role in the water vapor supply and local recycling process of moisture. In short, the widespread heavy rains of Northeast China are mainly caused by water vapor advection brought by the Asian monsoon, whereas local heavy rainfall is mainly caused by the convergence of the westerly wind field.

Relationship Between Persistent Heavy Rain Events in the Huaihe River Valley and the Distribution Pattern of Convective Activities in the Tropical Western Pacific Warm Pool

Using daily outgoing long-wave radiation （OLR） data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration （NOAA） and the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） reanalysis data of geopotential height fields for 1979-2006, the relationship between persistent heavy rain events （PHREs） in the Huaihe River valley （HRV） and the distribution pattern of convective activity in the tropical western Pacific warm pool （WPWP） is investigated. Based on nine cases of PHREs in the HRV, common characteristics of the West Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） show that the northern edge of the WPSH continues to lie in the HRV and is associated with the persistent ＂north weak south strong＂ distribution pattern of convective activities in the WPWP. Composite analysis of OLR leading the circulation indicates that the response of the WPSH to OLR anomaly patterns lags by about 1-2 days. In order to explain the reason for the effects of the distribution pattern of convective activities in the WPWP on the persistent northern edge of the WPSH in the HRV, four typical persistent heavy and light rain events in the Yangtze River valley （YRV） are contrasted with the PHREs in the HRV. The comparison indicates that when the distribution pattern of the convective activities anomaly behaves in a weak （strong） manner across the whole WPWP, persistent heavy （light） rain tends to occur in the YRV. When the distribution pattern of the convective activities anomaly behaves according to the ＂north weak south strong＂ pattern in the WPWP, persistent heavy rain tends to occur in the HRV. The effects of the ＂north weak south strong＂ distribution pattern of convective activities on PHREs in the HRV are not obvious over the seasonal mean timescale, perhaps due to the non-extreme status of convective activities in the WPWP.

Statistical Prediction of Heavy Rain in South Korea

This study is aimed at the development of a statistical model for forecasting heavy rain in South Korea. For the 3-hour weather forecast system, the 10 km×10 km area-mean amount of rainfall at 6 stations （Seoul, Daejeon, Gangreung, （Jwangju, Busan, and Jeju） in South Korea are used. And the corresponding 45 synoptic factors generated by the numerical model are used as potential predictors. Four statistical forecast models （linear regression model, logistic regression model, neural network model and decision tree model） for the occurrence of heavy rain are based on the model output statistics （MOS） method. They are separately estimated by the same training data. The thresholds are considered to forecast the occurrence of heavy rain because the distribution of estimated values that are generated by each model is too skewed. The results of four models are compared via Heidke skill scores. As a result, the logistic regression model is recommended.

Analysis of Causes for an Uncommon Persistent Heavy Rain During Winter

[Objective] The aim was to study the causes for one large scale of consecutive rainstorm process in the winter of 2010 in Guangxi. [Method] The characteristics and causes of the uncommon persistent heavy rain occurring in Guangxi in January, 2010 were analyzed by using synoptic observation data, NCEP 1°×1° per six hours Global Data Assimilation System reanalysis data and satellite image. [Result] The results showed that this persistent heavy rain process was associated with abnormal intensity and the stability of the western pacific subtropical high. The heavy rain was caused by the cloud system maintaining for a long time on the edge of subtropical high. The convergence of the infrequent southeast jet was the primary cause of the uncommon heavy rain. MPV1>0, and MPV2<0 at 700 hPa were the favorable conditions for the heavy rain. The magnitude of MPV1 and MPV2 was equivalent. [Conclusion] The study provided reference for the forecast of the following similar extreme weather.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VARIATION IN HORIZONTAL VORTICITY AND HEAVY RAIN DURING THE PROCESS OF MCC TURNING INTO BANDED MCSS

Using real-time data and the WRF mesoscale model,a heavy rain event in the process of Mesoscale Convective Complex(MCC) turning into banded Mesoscale Convective Systems(MCSs) during 18-19 June 2010 is simulated and analyzed in this paper.The results indicated that the formation and maintenance of a southwest vortex and shear line at 850 h Pa was the mesoscale system that affected the production of this heavy rain.The low-vortex heavy rain mainly happened in the development stage of MCC,and the circular MCC turned into banded MCSs in the late stage with mainly shear line precipitation.In the vicinity of rainfall area,the intense horizontal vorticity due to the vertical shear of u and v caused the rotation,and in correspondence,the ascending branch of the vertical circulation triggered the formation of heavy rain.The different distributions of u and v in the vertical direction produced varying vertical circulations.The horizontal vorticity near the low-vortex and shear line had obvious differences which led to varying reasons for heavy rain formation.The low-vortex heavy rain was mainly caused by the vertical shear of v,and the shear line rainfall formed owing to the vertical shear of both u and v.In this process,the vertical shear of v constituted the EW-trending rain band along the shear line,and the latitudinal non-uniformity of the vertical shear in u caused the vertical motion,which was closely related to the generation and development of MCSs at the shear line and the formation of multiple rain clusters.There was also a similar difference in the positively-tilting term(conversion from horizontal vorticity to vertical positive vorticity) near the rainfall center between the low-vortex and the shear line.The conversion in the low vortex was mainly determined by бv/бp<0,while that of the shear line by бu/бp<0.The scale of the conversion from the horizontal vorticity to vertical vorticity was relatively small,and it was easily ignored in the averaged state.The twisting term was mainly conducive to the reinforcement of precipitation,whereas its contribution to the development of southwest vortex and shear line was relatively small.

THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT PHYSICAL PROCESSES AND THEIR PARAMETERIZATIONS ON FORECAST OF A HEAVY RAINFALL IN SOUTH CHINA IN ANNUALLY FIRST RAINING SEASON

An ensemble prediction system based on the GRAPES model, using multi-physics, is used to discuss the influence of different physical processes in numerical models on forecast of heavy rainfall in South China in the annually first raining season(AFRS). Pattern, magnitude and area of precipitation, evolution of synoptic situation, as well as apparent heat source and apparent moisture sink between different ensemble members are comparatively analyzed. The choice of parameterization scheme for land-surface processes gives rise to the largest influence on the precipitation prediction. The influences of cumulus-convection and cloud-microphysics processes are mainly focused on heavy rainfall;the use of cumulus-convection parameterization tends to produce large-area and light rainfall. Change in parameterization schemes for land-surface and cumulus-convection processes both will cause prominent change in forecast of both dynamic and thermodynamic variables, while change in cloud-microphysics processes show primary impact on dynamic variables. Comparing simplified Arakawa-Schubert and Kain-Fritsch with Betts-Miller-Janjic schemes, SLAB with NOAH schemes, as well as both WRF single moment 6-class and NCEP 3-class with simplified explicit schemes of phase-mixed cloud and precipitation shows that the former predicts stronger low-level jets and high humidity concentration, more convective rainfall and local heavy rainfall, and have better performance in precipitation forecast. Appropriate parameterization schemes can reasonably describe the physical process related to heavy rainfall in South China in the AFRS, such as low-level convergence, latent heat release, vertical transport of heat and water vapor, thereby depicting the multi-scale interactions of low-level jet and meso-scale convective systems in heavy rainfall suitably, and improving the prediction of heavy rainfall in South China in the AFRS as a result.

On the Development of Meso-Scale Heavy Rain Parcels in China

Heavy rains occur in China frequently, which often bring us floods and serious disasters in the summer half-year. The meso-scale heavy rain parcels (MHRP) in the mid-latitude are usually developed in following cases:I.By the approaching, meeting and / or overlapping of different weather systems, when two or more different rainfall systems are getting to conjugate, some MHRPs could be developed, such as: 1) a new cold/warm front or squall line approaches an old front or squall, even when the old one is somewhat decrepit; 2) at the places where two or more synoptic systems with different characteristics are meeting together, such as the meeting of tropical cyclone with the cold airs coming from the mid- and / or high-latitudes, or the low latitude vortex meeting with the westerly trough; 3) at the intersections of some different weather systems, such as the intersection of drylines, squall lines or fronts moving from different directions; and 4) by the overlapping of rainfall parcels produced continuously from a meso-generation centre.II.Resonance Effect and Tibetan Plateau Influence are two reasons why high frequency of heavy and torrential rains arround the meiyu front is discussed also.

Analysis of the Process of Extreme Heavy Rainfall in the Cold Lake in Qinghai

[Objective] The aim was to analyze the process and reason of the extreme heavy rainfall on June 15,2011 in Cold Lake in Qinghai.[Method] The weather,physical field and satellite of one extreme heavy rain in the cold lake in Qinghai were expounded.[Result] The formation of the loop 'crooked neck' of high pressure,which on the one hand posed a typical situation in the circulation of heavy precipitation in Qinghai,and on the other hand,formed the southwest,southeast of the two water vapor transport in air,in addition to the small groove from the trough of Lake Balk hash and the split vortex plateau,resulted into the extreme heavy rainfall in Cold Lake.The presence of thermal low pressure 700 hPa was conducive to the accumulation of low energy and low-level moisture transport from the Qinghai region to the south of Qaidam Basin.[Conclusion] The resulting process was mainly due to heavy rain in the lower troposphere convergence,high-level divergence,high humidity areas and a strong vertical upward motion.

Study on the Prediction Method of the First Heavy Rain in the Spring of Xi'an City Based on Markov Chain

[Objective] The aim was to study the Markov chain prediction method of first heavy rain in spring in Xi’an City.[Method] According to the dependent random variables of the occurrence of heavy rain,precipitation in spring in seven meteorological stations in Xi’an City from 1959 to 2010 was selected.Its occurrence date was determined by the standard of first heavy rain in spring in meteorology.According to the length of the sequence of the problem and actual situation,six states were divided.And by dint of Markov chain,first heavy rain prediction model in spring was set up.[Result] The predicted occurrence time of first heavy rain in spring in Xi’an in 2009 and 2010 was consistent with the actual situation.The prediction effect was fine.The method had clear thought and was convenient for calculation,with certain dependence and practicality.[Conclusion] This method provided reference value for the actual forecast of first heavy rain in spring.

Design and Realization of Similar Report System of Moderate Rain,Heavy Rain and Rainstorm in Guyuan City

[Objective] The aim was to design and promote similar report system of moderate rain, heavy rain and rainstorm in Guyuan City. [Method] As C#. Net2005 development platform and based on MSSQLSEVER2005 database system, the upper air circulation during moderate rain, heavy rain and rainstorm from May to September since 1960, taking 500 hPa, 700 hPa and ground situation as complement, the similar height of 500 and 700 hPa were calculated. [Result]The system is set to be personal and template. The system only needs to be set for once. If the in- stallation is changed, the system doesn＇t need to change parameters. The system would automatically read the parameters and make it easy for the businessman to use. Meanwhile, it solves the problem of storing abundant data. Considering the promotion and application, the system is designed to be universal and portable, [ Conclusion] The system makes uP the Oossibilitv of mis-reoortina the moderate rain. heaw rain and rainstorm.

Study on Temporal-spatial Distribution of Heavy Rain and Rainstorm in Different Functional Areas of Chongqing

To discuss response ability of five functional areas to rainstorm flood in Chongqing,by taking 8 districts（ counties） as research object,monthly occurrence times of heavy rain and rainstorm in different functional areas over the years and appearance month of the maximum rainfall were conducted statistics. Results showed that frequency distribution of heavy rain in whole year in different functional areas was different,but it was similar in the same functional zone. Temporal-spatial distribution of rainstorm was more independent,and there were different performances in various districts of each functional area. In urban functional core area and urban functional expansion area,rainstorm times was more,and the maximum precipitation was larger. In urban development new district,rainstorm times and the maximum precipitation were relatively smaller in whole Chongqing. In ecological conservation development area of northeast Chongqing,rainstorm duration was longer,and we needed prevention and control during June- September. In ecological protection area of southeast Chongqing,although rainstorm occurrence times was the most in Chongqing,the heavy rainstorm was less.

The 10 Most Influential Heavy Rain Events in China in 2022:Selection and Evaluation

In 2022,a campaign to select and recognize 10 most influential heavy rain events(HREs)in China was initiated by the Chinese Meteorological Society and Wuhan Heavy Rain Research Institute of the China Meteorological Administration(CMA).A work flow involving both scientists and the general public for selecting major HREs over the Chinese mainland was implemented,and several evaluation indices that can represent HREs as well as associated causality and economic losses were established,based on which the top 10 most influential HREs in 2022 were recognized and announced to the public.The present paper introduces the selection and evaluation process and summarizes the main results.It is found that 38 major HREs occurred in South,North,and Northeast China in 2022,with the Pearl River basin and Songliao basin experiencing severe floods.A number of HREs occurred in Southwest China with high rainfall intensity,but small cumulative amount.Upper-level troughs,low vortices,low-level jets,low-level shear lines,the subtropical high,and typhoons are the main weather systems leading to the top 10 most influential HREs in 2022.Selection and evaluation of HREs form a quantitative record of major HREs,help concentrate limited research efforts on investigating the causes of major HREs,and promote the improvement of HRE forecasting skills.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION STUDY OF CLOUD INTERACTION AND FORMATION MECHANISM OF HEAVY RAIN IN MIXED CONVECTIVE-STRATIFORM CLOUD

Using the numerical model of mixed convective-stratiform clouds(MCS)in the paper(Hong 1997)and the averaged stratification of torrential rain processes,the evolution processes, interaction of the two kinds of clouds,structure and the precipitation features in the MCS to produce heavy rain are simulated and studied,and the physical reasons of producing torrential rain are analysed.The results indicate that the stratiform cloud surrounding the convective cloud becomes weakened and dissipates in the developing and enhancing of the convective cloud,and the rainfall rate and water content in the stratiform cloud increase as the distance from the convective cloud becomes larger.The numerical experiments find out that the stratiform cloud provides a benificial developing environment for the convective cloud,i.e.,the saturated environment and the convergence field in the stratiform cloud help to lengthen the life cycle of the convective cloud, produce sustained rainfall with high intensity and intermittent precipitation with ultra-high intensity.These and the ice phase microphysical processes are the main factors for the torrential rain formation and the MCS is a very effective precipitation system.

The Uncertainty of Mesoscale Numerical Prediction of Heavy Rain in South China and the Ensemble Simulations

In the context of non-hydrostatic MM5 version we have explored the impact ofconvective parameterization schemes on uncertainty in mesoscale numerical prediction of South Chinaheavy rain and mesoscale heavy rainfall short-range ensemble simulation by using two kinds ofphysics perturbation methods through a heavy rain case occurring on June 8, 1998 in Guangdong andFujian Provinces. The results show the physical process of impacts of convective schemes on heavyrainfall is that different latent heat of convective condensation produced by different convectiveschemes can make local temperature perturbation, leading to the difference of local vertical speedby the intrinsic dynamic and thermodynamic processes of atmosphere, and therefore, making differenceof the timing, locations and strength of mesh scale and subgrid scale precipitation later. Newprecipitations become the new source of latent heat and temperature perturbation, which finally makethe dynamic and thermodynamic structures different in the simulations. Two kinds of methods areused to construct different model version stochastically. The first one is using differentconvective parameterization and planetary boundary layer schemes, the second is adjusting differentparameters of convective trigger functions in Grell scheme. The results indicate that the firstensemble simulations can provide more uncertainty information of location and strength of heavyrainfall than the second. The single determinate predictions of heavy rain are unstable; physicsensemble predictions can reflect the uncertainty of heavy rain, provide more useful guidance andhave higher application value. Physics ensembles suggest that model errors should be taken intoconsideration in the heavy rainfall ensembles. Although the method of using different parameters inGrell scheme could not produce good results, how to construct the perturbation model or adjust theparameter in one scheme according to the physical meaning of the parameter still needs furtherinvestigation. The limitation of the current study is that it is based on a single case and morecases will be addressed in the future researches.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN AND MESO-β SCALE LOW VORTEX IN INVERTED TYPHOON TROUGH

Large-scale and mesoscale analyses are made for extremely heavy rain (EHR) and meso-β scale low vortex (MSLV) in Jiading District of Shanghai Municipality during 6-7 July 2001.It is shown that the EHR forms in the situation of northern westerly trough linking together with southern inverted typhoon trough at northwest side of the West Pacific Ocean subtropical high. Numerical simulation is made using a 21-layer improved REM (regional η coordinate model) for this course.The results show that the precipitation forms earlier than MSLV.and the strong convergence in wind velocity mate (WVM) triggers the strong precipitation.The formative reasons of WVM.especially the weak wind velocity center are discussed,and the formative mechanisms of the MSLV and EHR are discussed using high spatial and temporal resolution model- output physical fields.The results show that the heavy rain releases latent heat and warms the air column,and enhances the low level positive vorticity that existed before.Then it causes the formation of MSLV.There is a positive feedback mechanism between low vortex and precipitation,so CISK must be an important mechanism.

Analysis and numerical study of a hybrid BGM-3DVAR data assimilation scheme using satellite radiance data for heavy rain forecasts

A fine heavy rain forecast plays an important role in the accurate flood forecast, the urban rainstorm watedogging and the secondary hydrological disaster preventions. To improve the heavy rain forecast skills, a hybrid Breeding Growing Mode （BGM）- three-dimensional variational （3DVAR） Data Assimilation （DA） scheme is designed on running the Advanced Research WRF （ARW WRF） model using the Advanced Microwave Sounder Unit A （AMSU-A） satellite radiance data. Results show that： the BGM ense- mble prediction method can provide an effective background field and a flow dependent background error covariance for the BGM- 3DVAR scheme. The BGM-3DVAR scheme adds some effective mesoscale information with similar scales as the heavy rain clu- sters to the initial field in the heavy rain area, which improves the heavy rain forecast significantly, while the 3DVAR scheme adds information with relatively larger scales than the heavy rain clusters to the initial field outside of the heavy rain area, which does not help the heavy rain forecast improvement. Sensitive experiments demonstrate that the flow dependent background error covariance and the ensemble mean background field are both the key factors for adding effective mesoscale information to the heavy rain area, and they are both essential for improving the heavy rain forecasts.