Mechanism of Diabatic Heating on Precipitation and the Track of a Tibetan Plateau Vortex over the Eastern Slope of the Tibetan Plateau

Existing studies contend that latent heating(LH)will replace sensible heating(SH)to become the dominant factor affecting the development of the Tibetan Plateau vortex(TPV)after it moves off the Tibetan Plateau(TP).However,in the process of the TPV moving off the TP requires that the airmass traverse the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau(ESTP)where the topography and diabatic heating(DH)conditions rapidly change.How LH gradually replaces SH to become the dominant factor in the development of the TPV over the ESTP is still not very clear.In this paper,an analysis of a typical case of a TPV with a long life history over the ESTP is performed by using multi-sourced meteorological data and model simulations.The results show that SH from the TP surface can change the TPV-associated precipitation distribution by temperature advection after the TPV moves off the TP.The LH can then directly promote the development of the TPV and has a certain guiding effect on the track of the TPV.The SH can control the active area of LH by changing the falling area of the TPV-associated precipitation,so it still plays a key role in the development and tracking of the TPV even though it has moved out of the main body of the TP.

AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH LANDFALLING TROPICAL CYCLONES AFFECTING CHINA

In order to provide an operational reference for tropical cyclone precipitation forecast,this study investigates the spatial distributions of precipitation associated with landfalling tropical cyclones(TCs) affecting China using Geostationary Meteorological Satellite 5(GMS5)-TBB dataset.All named TCs formed over the western North Pacific that made direct landfall over China during the period 2001-2009 are included in this study.Based on the GMS5-TBB data,this paper reveals that in general there are four types of distribution of precipitation related to landfalling TCs affecting China.(a) the South-West Type in which there is a precipitation maximum to the southwestern quadrant of TC;(b) the Symmetrical South Type in which the rainfall is more pronounced to the south side of TC in the inner core while there is a symmetrical rainfall distribution in the outer band region;(c) the South Type,in which the rainfall maxima is more pronounced to the south of TC;and(d) the North Type,in which the rainfall maxima is more pronounced to the north of TC.Analyses of the relationship between precipitation distributions and intensity of landfalling TCs show that for intensifying TCs,both the maximum and the coverage area of the precipitation in TCs increase with the increase of TC intensity over northern Jiangsu province and southern Taiwan Strait,while decreasing over Beibu Gulf and the sea area of Changjiang River estuary.For all TCs,the center of the torrential rain in TC shifts toward the TC center as the intensity of TC increases.This finding is consistent with many previous studies.The possible influences of storm motion and vertical wind shear on the observed precipitation asymmetries are also examined.Results show that the environmental vertical wind shear is an important factor contributing to the large downshear rainfall asymmetry,especially when a TC makes landfall on the south and east China coasts.These results are also consistent with previous observational and numerical studies.

Intercomparison of CRA-Interim Precipitation Products with ERA5 and JRA-55

Based on the hourly observational data during 2007-2016 from surface meteorological stations in China,this paper compares the influence of 3-hourly precipitation data,mainly from the Chinese Reanalysis-Interim(CRA-Interim),ECMWF Reanalysis 5(ERA5)and Japanese Reanalysis-55(JRA-55),on the simulation of the spatial and temporal distribution of regional precipitation in China and the bias distribution of the simulation.The results show that:(1)The three sets of reanalysis datasets can all reflect the basic spatial distribution characteristics of annual average precipitation in China.The simulation of topographic forced precipitation in complex terrain by using CRA-interim is more detailed,while CRA-interim has larger negative bias in central and East China,and larger positive bias in southwest China.(2)In terms of seasonal precipitation,the three sets of reanalysis datasets overestimate the precipitation in the heavy rainfall zone in spring and summer,especially in southwest China.According to CRA-interim,location of the rain belt in the First Rainy Season in South China is west by south,and the summer precipitation has positive bias in southwest and South China.(3)All of the reanalysis datasets can basically reflect the distribution difference of inter-annual variation of drought and flood,but overall the CRA-Interim generally shows negative bias,while the ERA5 and JRA-55 exhibit positive bias.(4)For the diurnal variation of precipitation in summer,all the reanalysis datasets perform better in simulating the daytime precipitation than in the night,and the bias of CRA-interim is less in the Southeast and Northeast than elsewhere.(5)The ERA5 generally performs the best on the evaluation of quantitative precipitation forecast,the JRA-55 is the next,followed by the CRA-Interim.The CRA-Interim has higher missing rate and lower threat score for heavy rains;however,at the level of downpour,the CRA-Interim performs slightly better.

Sensitivity analysis of standardized precipitation index to climate state selection in China

In the calculation of the standardized precipitation index(SPI)index,it is necessary to select a certain period of precipitation samples as the reference climate state,and the SPI obtained by different reference climate states have different size.Therefore,the influence of different reference climate states on the accuracy of SPI calculation is worth analyzing.Based on the monthly precipitation data of 1184 stations in China from 1961 to 2010,the influence of the selection of the reference climatic state in the calculation of SPI was analyzed.Using 30 consecutive years as the duration of the reference climatic state,1961-2010 is divided into three periods 1961-1990,1971-2000.1981-2010.Taking the SPI obtained from the entire period as the standard value,the spatial distribution of SPI error and the accuracy of SPI classification based on each reference period were analyzed.Then,the resampling method was used to analyze the influence of time-continuous precipitation samples on the size of SPI.The results show that the SPI error of most sites is less than 0.2,and the accuracy of SPI classification is more than 80%.Although the errors of SPI mostly come from extreme drought and extremely wet,this does not affect the accuracy of the recognition of extreme drought and extremely wet.In most regions,it is reliable to calculate SPI based on the precipitation data of continuous 30 years,but the reliability of SPI is relatively low in areas with frequent drought.The results of the resampling analysis and 30-year sliding analysis show that the distribution parameters have noticeable turning characteristics,and the precipitation distribution parameters of nearly 85%stations had noticeable turning point before 1985,which led to the precipitation data of continuous 30 years easily overestimate the dry/wet.