Moisture Transport and Associated Background Circulation for the Regional Extreme Precipitation Events over South China in Recent 40 Years

Based on the hourly precipitation data at 176 observational stations over south China and the hourly ERA5reanalysis data during the 40-yr period of 1981-2020, we analyzed the universal characteristics of moisture transport and their associated background circulations for four types of regional extreme precipitation events(REPEs) over south China. Main findings are shown as follow.(i) The wind that transported moisture for the REPEs over south China featured a notable diurnal variation, which was consistent with the variations of the precipitation.(ii) Four types of REPEs could be determined, among which the southwest type(SWT) and the southeast type(SET) accounted for ~92%and ~5.7%, respectively, ranking the first and second, respectively.(iii) Trajectory analyses showed that the air particles of the SWT-REPEs had the largest specific humidity and experienced the most intense ascending motion, and therefore their precipitation was the strongest among the four types.(iv) South China was dominated by notable moisture flux convergence for the four types of REPEs, but their moisture transport was controlled by different flow paths.(v)Composite analyses indicated that the background circulation of the four types of REPEs showed different features,particularly for the intensity, location and coverage of a western Pacific subtropical high. For the SWT-REPEs, their moisture transport was mainly driven by a lower-tropospheric strong southwesterly wind band in the low-latitude regions. Air particles for this type of REPEs mainly passed over the Indochina Peninsula and South China Sea. For the SET-REPEs, their moisture transport was mainly steered by a strong low-tropospheric southeasterly wind northeast of a transversal trough. Air particles mainly passed over the South China Sea for this type of REPEs.

Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Regional Extreme Low Temperature Events in China during 1960-2009

An objective identification technique is used to detect regional extreme low temperature events （RELTE） in China during 1960-2009. Their spatial-temporal characteristics are analyzed. The results indicate that the lowest temperatures of RELTE, together with the frequency distribution of the geometric latitude center, exhibit a double-peak feature. The RELTE frequently happen near the geometric area of 30°N and 42°N before the mid-1980s, but shifted afterwards to 30°N. During 1960-2009, the frequency~ intensity, and the maximum impacted area of RELTE show overall decreasing trends. Due to the contribution of RELTE, with long duratioh and large spatial range, which account for 10% of the total RELTE, there is a significant turning point in the late 1980s. A change to a much more steady state after the late 1990s is identified. In addition, the integrated indices of RELTE are classified and analyzed.

Changes in Atmospheric Circulation during the Winter Regional Extreme Cold Events over China since 1960

The number of days with occurrence of winter regional extreme cold events(RECEs) in China was found more during 1960/1961–1985/1986(period 1), less during 1986/1987–2005/2006(period 2), but more again during2006/2007–2017/2018(period 3). So far, the differences in the atmospheric circulation favoring RECEs among these three periods are unclear. In this paper, changes in atmospheric circulation during the RECEs over China are examined by using composite analysis based on the station observed temperature data and NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data in winters of 1960/1961–2017/2018. The results show:(1) the stratospheric polar vortex was more active and tended to split before the outbreak of RECEs in period 3 than that in other two periods. The shift of the stratospheric polar vortex to Eurasia helped the upper Arctic cold air to affect the lower latitudes.(2) The troposphere was characterized by a typical or significant three-wave pattern before the outbreak of RECEs in period 2, in contrast to a weakened three-wave pattern in period 1. Compared to periods 1 and 2, the Okhotsk blocking high was stronger in period 3, contributing to the inverted omega-shaped circulation pattern in East Asia–North Pacific section and a shift of global pattern from three-wave to two-wave. The weakened three-wave or two-wave circulation pattern was manifested by the stronger Ural/Okhotsk blocking high, conducive to the strengthening of the meridional circulation and the occurrence of RECEs in East Asia.(3) The Siberian high was the strongest in period 3, followed by period 1, and it was the weakest in period 2. Before the outbreak of RECEs, the Siberian high in period 3 began to intensify one week earlier than that in periods 1 and 2. Thus, the accumulation time of cold air mass in period 3 was the longest. In summary, the synergism of atmospheric circulation at high and low levels in periods 1 and 3 was more conducive to more and strong RECEs than that in period 2. Moreover, the split of the stratospheric polar vortex may have played an important role on the formation of tropospheric two-wave pattern in period 3. The results obtained herein may provide a better understanding of the mechanisms for occurrences of RECEs in China.

Identification of winter long-lasting regional extreme low-temperature events in Eurasia and their variation during 1948—2017

Compared with short-duration events,long-lasting regional extreme low-temperature events(RELTEs)often have more severe impacts on human societies due to the induced persistence and large geographic area of related weather and climate disaster.Accordingly,an improved objective technique was applied to identify all long-lasting RELTEs in Eurasia from the winter of 1948/1949 to 2017/2018,followed by an in-depth discussion of its variation in terms of the annual frequency,duration,impacted area,mean intensity,maximum intensity,and a comprehensive index.The RELTE lasting for 52 d in the winter of 2007/2008 exhibited the longest duration,largest impacted area,and a greatest comprehensive index,which induced extremely low temperatures for more than 20 d in Western Asia,Central Asia,and China.During the past 70 winters,the frequency of long-lasting RELTEs decreased,especially after the late 1960s.Nevertheless,the mean and maximum intensities and comprehensive index exhibited distinctly increasing trends.All indicators of winter long-lasting RELTEs had a similar inter-decadal fluctuation featured by two noticeable peaks occurring around 1970 and 2007,and a remarkable recovery was discovered in the period of late 1990s to mid-2010s,especially for the occurrence of super long-lasting events.Significantly,winter long-lasting RELTEs in Eurasia showed distinct trends under various decadal climate backgrounds,i.e.,a strong negative or weak positive trend in the accelerated warming period and conversely,a strong positive or weak negative trend in the wanning slowdown stage.These findings indicate that we should be alert of the similar future recovery of winter long-lasting RELTEs in Eurasia,which are likely to occur in the slowdown period of global warming.

Variations in Regional Mean Daily Precipitation Extremes and Related Circulation Anomalies over Central China During Boreal Summer

The variations of regional mean daily precipitation extreme （RMDPE） events in central China and associated circulation anomalies during June, July, and August （JJA） of 1961-2010 are investigated by using daily in-situ precipitation observations and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. The precipitation data were collected at 239 state-level stations distributed throughout the provinces of Henan, Hubei, and Hunan. During 1961-2010, the 99th percentile threshold for RMDPE is 23.585 mm day-1. The number of RMDPE events varies on both interannual and interdecadal timescales, and increases significantly after the mid 1980s. The RMDPE events happen most frequently between late June and mid July, and are generally associated with anomalous baroclinic tropospheric circulations. The supply of moisture to the southern part of central China comes in a stepping way from the outer-region of an abnormal anticyclone over the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. Fluxes of wave activity generated over the northeastern Tibetan Plateau converge over central China, which favors the genesis and maintenance of wave disturbances over the region. RMDPE events typically occur in tandem with a strong heating gradient formed by net heating in central China and the large-scale net cooling in the surrounding area. The occurrence of RMDPE events over central China is tied to anomalous local cyclonic circulations, topographic forcing over the northeast Tibetan Plateau, and anomalous gradients of diabatic heating between central China and the surrounding areas.