The mesoscale numerical simulation of the flow field of the Hainan Island and the Leizhou Peninsula

The flow field over Hainan Island and the Leizhou Peninsula in summer and winter is discussed with three-dimensional mesoscale model developed in the University of Virginia and using the representative meteorological data of January and July.Simulation results indicate that the local weather characteristics over the Hainan Island are distinctly influenced by theWuzhi Mountain terrain. The cloudy or rainfall weather over the northeast of the Wuzhi Mountain occurs easily, under proper large-scale conditions of flow, temperature and humidity. while west wind prevails. The overcast or rainfall weather is often induced by strong convection in the afternoon over west of the Hainan Island under easterly prevailing wind.

Numerical Simulation and Diagnosis of A Rainstorm in Guangdong Province

A heavy rainfall process in Guangdong Province on 17-18 in June of 2009 was simulated by the mesoscale numerical model MM5 and was analyzed with the synoptic charts and satellite imagine.The results indicated that 500 hPa southern trough and 850 hPa shear line constituted the two systems of causing the weather process of heavy precipitation,whose favorable configuration was the focus of the heavy rain forecast.High-level westerly jet stream played an important role in this heavy rainfall process.With the 'suction effect' of strong upper-level jet divergence at 200 hPa level,the low-level shear line pressed southward,which made low-level warm damp air move upwards along the shear line so as to generate a strong upward motion,providing favorable background conditions for the occurrence and development of heavy precipitation.There was fairly good correspondence between 850 hPa horizontal helicity center and the influence system's development and movement.The distribution of horizontal helicity had a certain relationship with the falling areas of heavy precipitation.

A Review of Major Progresses in Mesoscale Dynamic Research in China since 1999

Mesoscale research conducted by Chinese meteorologists during the past four years is reviewed. Advances in theoretical studies include (a) mesoscale quasi-balanced and semi-balanced dynamics, derived through scale analysis and the perturbation method which are suitable for describing mesoscale vortices; (b) subcritical instability and vortex-sheet instability; (c) frontal adjustment mechanism and the effect of topography on frontgenesis; and (d) slantwise vorticity development theories, the slantwise vortex equation, and moist potential vorticity (MPV) anomalies with precipitation-related heat and mass sinks and MPV impermeability theorem. Prom the MPV conservation viewpoint, the transformation mechanism between different scale weather systems is analyzed. Based on the data analysis, a new dew-point front near the periphery of the West Pacific subtropical high is identified. In the light of MPV theory and Q-vector theory, some events associated with torrential rain systems and severe storms are analyzed and diagnosed. Progress in mesoscale numerical simulation has been made in the development of meso-α, meso-β vortices, meso-γ-scale downbursts and precipitation produced by deep convective systems with MM5 and other mesoscale models.

The Major Research Advances of Mesoscale Weather Dynamics in China Since 2003

This paper reviews the main theoretical progress of mesoscale weather dynamics since 2003, including： （1） The dynamic mechanisms of balanced and unbalanced flow are applied to study the genesis and development problems of mesoscale circulation. The symmetric instability and transverse-wave instability are analyzed in line and vortex atmosphere convection, and further research has been done on nonlinear convective symmetric instability. The interaction between forced convection and unstable convection and the wave characteristics of mesoscale motion are also discussed. （2） Intermediate atmosphere dynamic boundary layer models are developed. The complicated nonlinear interaction is analyzed theoretically between the atmospheric boundary layer and the free atmosphere. The structure of the topography boundary layer, atmospheric frontogenesis, the structure and circulation of the low-level front and other boundary layer dynamic problems are discussed. （3） The formation and development of meso-β-scale rainstorms under the background of the East-Asia atmosphere circulation are diagnosed with the variation of MPV （moist potential vorticity） anomalies. And some physical vectors are modified and applied in the moist atmosphere.

Analysis of a Group of Weak Small-Scale Vortexes in the Planetary Boundary Layer in the Mei-yu Front

A mei-yu front process in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River on 23 June 1999 was simulated by using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-NCAR （PSU/NCAR） Mesoscale Model （MM5） with FDDA （Four Dimension Data Assimilation）. The analysis shows that seven weak small mesoscale vortexes of tens of kilometers, correspondent to surface low trough or mesoscale centers, in the planetary boundary layer （PBL） in the mei-yu front were heavily responsible for the heavy rainfall. Sometimes, several weak small-scale vortexes in the PBL could form a vortex group, some of which would weaken locally, and some would develop to be a meso-α-scale low vortex through combination. The initial dynamical triggering mechanism was related to two strong currents： one was the northeast flow in the PBL at the rear of the mei-yu front, the vortexes occurred exactly at the side of the northeast flow; and the other was the strong southwest low-level jet （LLJ） in front of the Mei-yu front, which moved to the upper of the vortexes. Consequently, there were notable horizontal and vertical wind shears to form positive vorticity in the center of the southwest LLJ. The development of mesoscale convergence in the PBL and divergence above, as well as the vertical positive vorticity column, were related to the small wind column above the nose-shaped velocity contours of the northeast flow embedding southwestward in the PBL, which intensified the horizontal wind shear and the positive vorticity column above the vortexes, baroclinicity and instability.

Sensitivity Experiments of an Eastward-Moving Southwest Vortex to Initial Perturbations

Whether the initial conditions contain pronounced mesoscale signals is important to the simulation of the southwest vortex. An eastward-moving southwest vortex is simulated using the PSU/NCAR MM5. A modest degree of success is achieved, but the most serious failure is that the formation and displacement of the simulated vortex in its early phase are about fourteen hours later than the observed vortex. Considering the relatively sparse data on the mesoscale vortex and in an attempt to understand the cause of the forecast failure, an adjoint model is used to examine the sensitivity of the southwest vortex to perturbations of initial conditions. The adjoint sensitivity indicates how small perturbations of model variables at the initial time in the model domain can influence the vortex. A large sensitivity for zonal wind is located under 400 hPa, a large sensitivity for meridional wind is located under 500 hPa, a large sensitivity for temperature is located between 500 and 900 hPa, and almost all of the large sensitivity areas are located in the southwestern area. Based on the adjoint sensitivity results, perturbations are added to initial conditions to improve the simulation of the southwest vortex. The results show that the initial conditions with perturbations can successfully simulate the formation and displacement of the vortex; the wind perturbations added to the initial conditions appear to be a cyclone circulation under the middle level of the atmosphere in the southwestern area with an anticyclone circulation to its southwest; a water vapor perturbation added to initial conditions can strengthen the vortex and the speed of its displacement.

Impact of the Complex Terrain in Beijing on Formation of Low-Level Jets

This study investigated how the Taihang Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains affect low-level jets(LLJs)in the Beijing area,based on conventional radiosonde observations from Nanjiao Observatory(2016–2017)and high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting–Advanced Research WRF(WRF-ARW)model simulations.Analysis of radiosonde observations indicated that LLJs in the study area are mainly from the southwest and northwest directions,with occurrence frequency of 44.6%and 33.0%,respectively.Southwest(northwest)LLJs are aligned parallel(perpendicular)to the orientation of the Taihang Mountain Range.Terrain sensitivity experiments using the WRF-ARW model were then conducted to examine the effects of terrain forcing on the northwest and southwest LLJs,with adopted terrain heights of 100%and 50%.The results showed that for northwest LLJs,reduction in the elevation of the Taihang Mountain Range led to weakening of jet intensity by approximately 20%and reduction in jet maximum height by approximately 250 m;lowering the Yanshan Mountain Range had minor influence on the northwest LLJs,with only a 5.2%reduction in intensity and no substantial change in jet maximum height.For southwest LLJs,reduction in the elevation of both the Taihang and Yanshan Mountain ranges resulted in minor changes in the intensity and height of the jets.Further analysis revealed that the topography in the Beijing area could modulate the height and intensity of the stable layer by altering the inversion structure within the boundary layer.The LLJs can develop rapidly within the stable layer,and both the location and the scale of the jet core exhibited reasonable agreement with the extent of the stable layer.