RADIATIVE AND MICROPHYSICAL EFFECTS OF ICE CLOUDS ON A TORRENTIAL RAINFALL EVENT OVER HUNAN,CHINA

The radiative and microphysical effects of ice clouds on a torrential rainfall event over Hunan,China in June 2004 are investigated by analyzing the sensitivity of cloud-resolving model simulations.The model is initialized by zonally-uniform vertical velocity,zonal wind,horizontal temperature and vapor advection from National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP) /National Center for Atmospheric Research(NCAR) reanalysis data.The exclusion of radiative effects of ice clouds increases model domain mean surface rain rates through the increase in the mean net condensation associated with the increase in the mean radiative cooling during the onset phase and the increases in the mean net condensation and the mean hydrometeor loss during the mature phase.The decrease in the mean rain rate corresponds to the decreased mean net condensation and associated mean latent heat release as the enhanced mean radiative cooling by the removal of radiative effects of ice clouds cools the mean local atmosphere during the decay phase.The removal of microphysical effects of ice clouds decreases the mean rain rates through the decrease in the mean net condensation during the onset phase,while the evolution of mean net condensation and the mean hydrometeor changes from decrease to increase during the mature phase.The reduction in the mean rain rate is primarily associated with the mean hydrometeor change in the absence of microphysical effects of ice clouds during the decay phase.

Effects of sea surface temperature,cloud radiative and microphysical processes,and diurnal variations on rainfall in equilibrium cloud-resolving model simulations

The effects of sea surface temperature（SST）,cloud radiative and microphysical processes,and diurnal variations on rainfall statistics are documented with grid data from the two-dimensional equilibrium cloud-resolving model simulations.For a rain rate of higher than 3 mm.h 1,water vapor convergence prevails.The rainfall amount decreases with the decrease of SST from 29℃ to 27℃,the inclusion of diurnal variation of SST,or the exclusion of microphysical effects of ice clouds and radiative effects of water clouds,which are primarily associated with the decreases in water vapor convergence.However,the amount of rainfall increases with the increase of SST from 29℃ to 31℃,the exclusion of diurnal variation of solar zenith angle,and the exclusion of the radiative effects of ice clouds,which are primarily related to increases in water vapor convergence.For a rain rate of less than 3 mm.h 1,water vapor divergence prevails.Unlike rainfall statistics for rain rates of higher than 3 mm.h 1,the decrease of SST from 29℃ to 27℃ and the exclusion of radiative effects of water clouds in the presence of radiative effects of ice clouds increase the rainfall amount,which corresponds to the suppression in water vapor divergence.The exclusion of microphysical effects of ice clouds decreases the amount of rainfall,which corresponds to the enhancement in water vapor divergence.The amount of rainfall is less sensitive to the increase of SST from 29℃ to 31℃ and to the radiative effects of water clouds in the absence of the radiative effects of ice clouds.

Simulation of the Microphysical Processes and Effect of Latent Heat on a Heavy Rainfall Event in Beijing

An extraordinary rainstorm that occurred in Beijing on 21 July 2012 was simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. The results showed that:(1) The two precipitation phases were based on a combination of cold cloud processes and warm cloud processes. The accumulated conversion amount and conversion rate of microphysical processes in the warm-area phase were all much larger than those in the cold front phase.(2) 72.6% of rainwater was from the warm-area phase. Rainwater mainly came from the melting of graupel and the melting of snow, while the accretion of cloud water by rain ranked second.(3) The net heating rate with height appeared as an overall warming with two strong heating centers in the lower and middle layers of the troposphere and a minimum heating center around the melting layer. The net heating effect in the warm-area phase was stronger than that in the cold front phase.(4) Warm cloud processes contributed most to latent heat release, and the thermal effect of cold cloud processes on the storm in the cold front phase was enhanced compared to that in the warm-area phase.(5) The melting of graupel and snow contributed most to latent heat absorption, and the effect of the evaporation of rainwater was significantly reduced in the cold front phase.