The Roles of Low-level Jets in “21·7” Henan Extremely Persistent Heavy Rainfall Event

An extremely heavy rainfall event lasting from 17 to 22 July 2021 occurred in Henan Province of China, with accumulated precipitation of more than 1000 mm over a 6-day period that exceeded its mean annual precipitation. The present study examines the roles of persistent low-level jets(LLJs) in maintaining the precipitation using surface station observations and reanalysis datasets. The LLJs triggered strong ascending motions and carried moisture mainly from the outflow of Typhoon In-fa(2021). The varying directions of the LLJs well corresponded to the meridional shifts of the rainfall. The precipitation rate reached a maximum during 20-21 July as the LLJs strengthened and expanded vertically into double LLJs, including synoptic-weather-system-related LLJs(SLLJs) at 850–700 hPa and boundary-layer jets(BLJs)at ~950 hPa. The coupling of the SLLJ and BLJ provided strong mid-and low-level convergence on 20 July, whereas the SLLJ produced mid-level divergence at its entrance that coupled with low-level convergence at the terminus of the BLJ on21 July. The formation mechanisms of the two types of LLJs are further examined. The SLLJs and the low-pressure vortex(or inverted trough) varied synchronously as a whole and were affected by the southwestward movement of the WPSH in the rainiest period. The persistent large total pressure gradient force at low levels also maintained the strength of low-level geostrophic winds, thus sustaining the BLJs on the synoptic scale. The results based on a Du-Rotunno 1D model show that the Blackadar and Holton mechanisms jointly governed the BLJ dynamics on the diurnal scale.

Assimilation of the FY-4A AGRI Clear-Sky Radiance Data in a Regional Numerical Model and Its Impact on the Forecast of the“21·7”Henan Extremely Persistent Heavy Rainfall

Assimilation of the Advanced Geostationary Radiance Imager(AGRI)clear-sky radiance in a regional model is performed.The forecasting effectiveness of the assimilation of two water vapor(WV)channels with conventional observations for the“21·7”Henan extremely heavy rainfall is analyzed and compared with a baseline test that assimilates only conventional observations in this study.The results show that the 24-h cumulative precipitation forecast by the assimilation experiment with the addition of the AGRI exceeds 500 mm,compared to a maximum value of 532.6 mm measured by the national meteorological stations,and that the location of the maximum precipitation is consistent with the observations.The results for the short periods of intense precipitation processes are that the simulation of the location and intensity of the 3-h cumulative precipitation is also relatively accurate.The analysis increment shows that the main difference between the two sets of assimilation experiments is over the ocean due to the additional ocean observations provided by FY-4A,which compensates for the lack of ocean observations.The assimilation of satellite data adjusts the vertical and horizontal wind fields over the ocean by adjusting the atmospheric temperature and humidity,which ultimately results in a narrower and stronger WV transport path to the center of heavy precipitation in Zhengzhou in the lower troposphere.Conversely,the WV convergence and upward motion in the control experiment are more dispersed;therefore,the precipitation centers are also correspondingly more dispersed.

Typical Circulation Patterns and Associated Mechanisms for Persistent Heavy Rainfall Events over Yangtze–Huaihe River Valley during 1981–2020

Persistent heavy rainfall events(PHREs)over the Yangtze–Huaihe River Valley(YHRV)during 1981–2020 are classified into three types(type-A,type-B and type-C)according to pattern correlation.The characteristics of the synoptic systems for the PHREs and their possible development mechanisms are investigated.The anomalous cyclonic disturbance over the southern part of the YHRV during type-A events is primarily maintained and intensified by the propagation of Rossby wave energy originating from the northeast Atlantic in the mid–upper troposphere and the northward propagation of Rossby wave packets from the western Pacific in the mid–lower troposphere.The zonal propagation of Rossby wave packets and the northward propagation of Rossby wave packets during type-B events are more coherent than those for type-A events,which induces eastward propagation of stronger anomaly centers of geopotential height from the northeast Atlantic Ocean to the YHRV and a meridional anomaly in geopotential height over the Asian continent.Type-C events have“two ridges and one trough”in the high latitudes of the Eurasian continent,but the anomalous intensity of the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH)and the trough of the YHRV region are weaker than those for type-A and type-B events.The composite synoptic circulation of four PHREs in 2020 is basically consistent with that of the corresponding PHRE type.The location of the South Asian high(SAH)in three of the PHREs in 2020 moves eastward as in the composite of the three types,but the position of the WPSH of the four PHREs is clearly westward and northward.Two water vapor conveyor belts and two cold air conveyor belts are tracked during the four PHREs in 2020,but the water vapor path from the western Pacific is not seen,which may be caused by the westward extension of the WPSH.

How Frequently Will the Persistent Heavy Rainfall over the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Basin in Summer 2020 Happen under Global Warming?

The middle and lower Yangtze River basin(MLYRB)suffered persistent heavy rainfall in summer 2020,with nearly continuous rainfall for about six consecutive weeks.How the likelihood of persistent heavy rainfall resembling that which occurred over the MLYRB in summer 2020(hereafter 2020PHR-like event)would change under global warming is investigated.An index that reflects maximum accumulated precipitation during a consecutive five-week period in summer(Rx35day)is introduced.This accumulated precipitation index in summer 2020 is 60%stronger than the climatology,and a statistical analysis further shows that the 2020 event is a 1-in-70-year event.The model projection results derived from the 50-member ensemble of CanESM2 and the multimodel ensemble(MME)of the CMIP5 and CMIP6 models show that the occurrence probability of the 2020PHR-like event will dramatically increase under global warming.Based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test,one-third of the CMIP5 and CMIP6 models that have reasonable performance in reproducing the 2020PHR-like event in their historical simulations are selected for the future projection study.The CMIP5 and CMIP6 MME results show that the occurrence probability of the 2020PHR-like event under the present-day climate will be double under lower-emission scenarios(CMIP5 RCP4.5,CMIP6 SSP1-2.6,and SSP2-4.5)and 3-5 times greater under higher-emission scenarios(3.0 times for CMIP5 RCP8.5,2.9 times for CMIP6 SSP3-7.0,and 4.8 times for CMIP6 SSP5-8.5).The inter-model spread of the probability change is small,lending confidence to the projection results.The results provide a scientific reference for mitigation of and adaptation to future climate change.

A COMBINED VERIFICATION METHOD FOR PREDICTABILITY OF PERSISTENT HEAVY RAINFALL EVENTS OVER EAST ASIA BASED ON ENSEMBLE FORECAST

Persistent Heavy Rainfall(PHR)is the most influential extreme weather event in Asia in summer,and thus it has attracted intensive interests of many scientists.In this study,operational global ensemble forecasts from China Meteorological Administration(CMA)are used,and a new verification method applied to evaluate the predictability of PHR is investigated.A metrics called Index of Composite Predictability(ICP)established on basic verification indicators,i.e.,Equitable Threat Score(ETS)of 24 h accumulated precipitation and Root Mean Square Error(RMSE)of Height at 500 h Pa,are selected in this study to distinguish"good"and"poor"prediction from all ensemble members.With the use of the metrics of ICP,the predictability of two typical PHR events in June 2010 and June 2011 is estimated.The results show that the"good member"and"poor member"can be identified by ICP and there is an obvious discrepancy in their ability to predict the key weather system that affects PHR."Good member"shows a higher predictability both in synoptic scale and mesoscale weather system in their location,duration and the movement.The growth errors for"poor"members is mainly due to errors of initial conditions in northern polar region.The growth of perturbation errors and the reason for better or worse performance of ensemble member also have great value for future model improvement and further research.

Pre-summer Persistent Heavy Rain over Southern China and Its Relationship with Intra-seasonal Oscillation of Tropical Atmosphere

Based on daily precipitation data supplied by the Chinese meteorological administration,hourly reanalysis datasets provided by the ECMWF and daily outgoing long wave radiation supplied by the NOAA,the evolution regularity of continuous heavy precipitation over Southern China(SC)from April to June in 1979-2020 was systematically analyzed.The interaction between specific humidity and circulation field at the background-scale,the intra-seasonal-scale and the synoptic-scale,and its influence on persistent heavy precipitation over the SC during the April-June rainy season were quantitatively diagnosed and analyzed.The results are as follows.Persistent heavy rainfall events(PHREs)over the SC during the April-June rainy season occur frequently from mid-May to mid-and late-June,exhibiting significant intra-seasonal oscillation(10-30-day)features.Vertically integrated moisture flux convergence(VIMFC)can well represent the variation of the PHREs.A multiscale quantitative diagnosis of the VIMFC shows that the pre-summer PHREs over the SC are mainly affected by the background water vapor(greater than 30 days),intraseasonal circulation disturbance(10-30-day)and background circulation(greater than 30 days),and water vapor convergences are the main factor.The SC is under the control of a warm and humid background and a strong intraseasonal cyclonic circulation,with strong convergence and ascending movements and abundant water vapor conditions during the period of the PHREs.Meanwhile,the westward inter-seasonal oscillation of tropical atmosphere keeps the precipitation system over the SC for several consecutive days,eventually leading to the occurrence,development and persistence of heavy precipitation.

Disastrous Persistent Extreme Rainfall Events of the 2022 Pre-Flood Season in South China:Causes and Subseasonal Predictions

Two persistent extreme rainfall events(PEREs) with record-breaking amounts of rainfall and long duration caused disastrous impact during the 2022 pre-flood season in South China. Atmospheric intraseasonal variability played a key role in triggering and maintaining both PEREs, but its major impact on each event was associated with different modes. For the first PERE(10-15 May;PERE1), the tropical and extratropical quasi-biweekly oscillations jointly contributed to the extreme rainfall intensity. In contrast, the long duration(6-21 June) of the heavy rainfall during the second PERE(PERE2) was closely related to prolonged convection and moisture transport anomalies induced mainly by the tropical 30-90-day variability. Subseasonal-to-seasonal predictions by the model of the ECMWF showed limited skill in relation to the rainfall intensity of PERE1 and PERE2 beyond 1–2 weeks. Further assessment suggested that the fidelity of the PERE predictions was linked to model skill in predicting the phase evolution and intensity of tropical and extratropical intraseasonal variabilities. Thus, efficient monitoring and accurate prediction of the various modes of atmospheric intraseasonal variability are fundamental to reducing the hazard associated with PEREs in South China.

Importance of orographic gravity waves over the Tibetan Plateau on the spring rainfall in East Asia

The springtime persistent rainfall(SPR)is the major rainy period before the onset of summer monsoon in East Asia,which profoundly affects the regional and even global hydrological cycle.Despite the great importance of the mechanical and thermal effects of the Tibetan Plateau(TP)large-scale orography on the formation of SPR,the impact of small-scale orography over the TP remains poorly understood.Here we show that upward-propagating orographic gravity waves(OGWs),which occur as the subtropical westerlies interact with the TP's small-scale orography,contribute importantly to the SPR.The breaking of OGWs induces a large zonal wave drag in the middle troposphere,which drives a meridional circulation across the TP.The rising branch of the meridional circulation acts to lower the pressure and increase the meridional pressure gradient to the south of the TP by dynamically pumping the lower-tropospheric air upwards.The southwesterly monsoonal flow on the southeastern flank of the TP thus intensifies and transports more water vapor to East Asia,resulting in an enhancement of the SPR.This finding helps more completely understand the impacts of TP's multiscale orography on the SPR and provides a new perspective on the westerly-monsoon synergy in East Asia.

Energy Budgets on the Interactions between the Mean and Eddy Flows during a Persistent Heavy Rainfall Event over the Yangtze River Valley in Summer 2010

In this study,a persistent heavy rainfall event(PHRE) that lasted for around 9 days(from 0000 UTC 17 to0000 UTC 26 June 2010) and caused accumulated precipitation above 600 mm over the Yangtze River valley,was reasonably reproduced by the advanced research WRF model.Based on the simulation,a set of energy budget equations that divided the real meteorological field into the mean and eddy flows were calculated so as to understand the interactions between the precipitation-related eddy flows and their background circulations(BCs).The results indicated that the precipitation-related eddy flows interacted with their BCs intensely during the PHRE.At different layers,the energy cycles showed distinct characteristics.In the upper troposphere,downscaled energy cascade processes appeared,which favored the maintenance of upper-level eddy flows;whereas,a baroclinic energy conversion,which reduced the upper-level jet,also occurred.In the middle troposphere,significant upscaled energy cascade processes,which reflect the eddy flows' reactionary effects on their BCs,appeared.These effects cannot be ignored with respect to the BCs' evolution,and the reactionary effects were stronger in the dynamical field than in the thermodynamical field.In the lower troposphere,a long-lived quasi-stationary lower-level shear line was the direct trigger for the PHRE.The corresponding eddy flows were sustained mainly through the baroclinic energy conversion associated with convection activities.Alongside this,the downscaled energy cascade processes of kinetic energy,which reflect the direct influences of BCs on the precipitation-related eddy flows,were also favorable.A downscaled energy cascade of exergy also appeared in the lower troposphere,which favored the precipitation-related eddy flow indirectly via the baroclinic energy conversion.

Comparison of the Multi-Scale Features in Two Persistent Heavy Rainfall Events in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River

Two persistent heavy rainfall(PHR) events in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River(MLYR)occurring in June 1982 and 1998 are studied in this paper.Though both events happened in the Meiyu season,their large-scale background and developing processes were quite different.During the PHR event in 1982,the Lake Baikal area was occupied by a strong westerly trough and the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH) was stronger and more westward-extending than the normal years.Under such a condition,the cold dry air and warm moist air were continuously transported to the MLYR and favored the PHR there.For the event in 1998,the WPSH was similar to that in 1982,while the westerly trough in the Lake Baikal area was comparatively weak and a shortwave trough situating in East China contributed to advect cold dry air to the MLYR.It is found that the high-latitude trough was closely related to the 1030-day low-frequency oscillation while the anomaly of WPSH was linked with the combined effect of both30 60- and 10 30-day low-frequency oscillations in the PHR event in 1982.By contrast,the 60-day low-pass perturbation demonstrated positive impact on the westward extension of WPSH and development of the Baikal trough while the 30 60-day oscillation played a role in strengthening the shortwave trough in East China and the WPSH in the case of 1998.Though the low-latitude 30 60-day oscillations contributed to the intensification and westward extension of the WPSH in both PHR events,their evolution exhibited evident differences.In the 1982 case,the 30 60-day anomalies originated from the western Indian Ocean were much more like the Madden Julian Oscillation,while its counterpart in the 1998 case was much more similar to the first mode of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation.

Impact of Multi-Scale Oscillations at High and Low Latitudes on Two Persistent Heavy Rainfall Events in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

To investigate the multi-scale features in two persistent heavy rainfall(PHR) events in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River(MLRYR) in June of 1982 and 1998, this study examines the impact of multi-scale oscillations in the north and south of 30?N on the PHR events by performing sensitivity experiments with the Weather Research and Forecast(WRF) model. It is found that the 60-day lowpass perturbation made a trivial contribution to the MLRYR precipitation during the PHR event in 1982.This PHR event resulted mainly from the combined effects of 30–60-day oscillation at low latitudes and10–30-day oscillation at both high and low latitudes. The southwesterly anomalies associated with the 30–60-day anticyclonic anomaly over the northwestern Pacific facilitated moisture transport from the ocean to the MLRYR and enhanced the low-level convergence and ascending motion in the MLRYR. This similarly occurred in the 10–30-day oscillation as well. Moreover, the 10–30-day anomalies at high latitudes played a role in strengthening the large-scale low-level convergence over the MLRYR. The PHR event in 1998 was mainly related to the 60-day oscillation at both high and low latitudes and 30–60-day oscillation at low latitudes. The 60-day low-pass filtered anomalous cyclone at high latitudes in the north of 30?N contributed to the development of low-level convergence and ascending motion in northern MLRYR while the anomalous anticyclone at low latitudes in the south of 30?N not only increased the moisture in the MLRYR but also preconditioned the dynamical factors favorable for PHR over the whole area. The 30–60-day perturbations located north and south of 30?N worked together producing positive moisture anomaly in the MLRYR.In addition, the anomalous circulation in the south of 30?N tended to favor the development of ascending motion and low-level convergence in the MLRYR.

The Multiscale Factors Favorable for a Persistent Heavy Rain Event over Hainan Island in October 2010

A case study is presented of the multiscale characteristics that produced the record-breaking persistent heavy rainfall event(PHRE) over Hainan Island,northern South China Sea(SCS),in autumn 2010.The study documents several key weather systems,from planetary scale to mesoscale,that contributed to the extreme rainfall during this event.The main findings of this study are as follows.First,the convectively active phase of the MJO was favorable for the establishment of a cyclonic circulation and the northward expansion of the Intertropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ).The active disturbances in the northward ITCZ helped direct abundant moisture from adjacent oceans towards Hainan Island continuously throughout the event,where it interacted with cold air from the midlatitudes and caused heavy rain.Second,the 8-daylong PHRE can be divided into three processes according to different synoptic systems:peripheral cloud clusters of a tropical depression-type disturbance over the central SCS in process 1;interactions between the abnormally far north ITCZ and the invading cold air in process 2;and the newly formed tropical depression near Hainan Island in process 3.In the relatively stable synoptic background of each process,meso-α and meso-β-scale cloud clusters repeatedly traveled along the same path to Hainan Island.Finally,based on these analyses,a conceptual model is proposed for this type of PHRE in autumn over the northern SCS,which demonstrates the influences of multiscale systems.