Classification of Precipitation Types Using Fall Velocity–Diameter Relationships from 2D-Video Distrometer Measurements

Fall velocity–diameter relationships for four different snowflake types（dendrite,plate,needle,and graupel） were investigated in northeastern South Korea,and a new algorithm for classifying hydrometeors is proposed for distrometric measurements based on the new relationships.Falling ice crystals（approximately 40 000 particles） were measured with a two-dimensional video disdrometer（2DVD） during a winter experiment from 15 January to 9 April 2010.The fall velocity–diameter relationships were derived for the four types of snowflakes based on manual classification by experts using snow photos and 2DVD measurements：the coefficients（exponents） for different snowflake types were 0.82（0.24） for dendrite,0.74（0.35） for plate,1.03（0.71） for needle,and 1.30（0.94） for graupel,respectively.These new relationships established in the present study（PS） were compared with those from two previous studies.Hydrometeor types were classified with the derived fall velocity–diameter relationships,and the classification algorithm was evaluated using 3 × 3 contingency tables for one rain–snow transition event and three snowfall events.The algorithm showed good performance for the transition event：the critical success indices（CSIs） were 0.89,0.61 and 0.71 for snow,wet-snow and rain,respectively.For snow events,the algorithm performance for dendrite and plate（CSIs = 1.0 and 1.0,respectively） was better than for needle and graupel（CSIs = 0.67 and 0.50,respectively）.

Variability of Raindrop Size Distribution during a Regional Freezing Rain Event in the Jianghan Plain of Central China

The characteristics of the raindrop size distribution(DSD)during regional freezing rain(FR)events that occur throughout the phase change(from liquid to solid)are poorly understood due to limited observations.We investigate the evolution of microphysical parameters and the key formation mechanisms of regional FR using the DSDs from five disdrometer sites in January 2018 in the Jianghan Plain(JHP)of Central China.FR is identified via the size and velocity distribution measured from a disdrometer,the discrete Fréchet distancemethod,surface temperature,human observations,and sounding data.With the persistence of precipitation,the emergence of graupel or snowflakes significantly reduces the proportion of FR.The enhancement of this regional FR event is mainly dominated by the increase in the number concentration of raindrops but weakly affected by the diameters.To improve the accuracy of quantitative precipitation estimation for the FR event,a modified second-degree polynomial relation between the shapeμand slopeΛof gamma DSDs is derived,and a new Z-R(radar reflectivity to rain rate)relationship is developed.The mean values of mass-weighted mean diameters(D_(m))and generalized intercepts(lgN_(w))in FR are close to the stratiform results in the northern region of China.Both the melting of tiny-rimed graupels and large-dry snowflakes are a response to the formation of this regional FR process in the JHP,dominated by the joint influence of the physical mechanism of warm rain,vapor deposition,and aggregation/riming coupled with the effect of weak convective motion in some periods.