2016-2020年广东省定量降水预报检验评估

对2016-2020年全球模式ECMWF和区域模式GZ_GRAPES、基于模式的解释应用和广东省气象局发布的定量降水预报（QPF）进行检验和评估。结果表明:ECMWF和GZ_GRAPES模式对一般性降水预报技巧在逐年提升,对大雨或以上的降水预报技巧的提升缓慢。GZ_GRAPES对大雨以上降水的预报技巧和定量降水预报的精细时空分布均优于ECMWF,区域模式更易预报出中小尺度降水信息。分类暴雨评定表明,模式对台风暴雨预报最好、锋面暴雨次之、季风暴雨预报最差。模式的暴雨预报落区偏小、低估明显,预报员通过经验订正明显提升了暴雨预报评分,其中季风暴雨的订正量最大,但存在预报范围偏大、空报较高的问题。基于ECMWF集合预报的解释应用与预报员的定量降水预报能力相当,降水越强,解释应用技术的优势越明显,但对季风暴雨也存在严重低估或漏报。目前降水精细时空分布、季风暴雨、极端性暴雨等依然靠预报员的经验订正为主,随着集合预报模式和区域高分辨率模式能力的提升,将预报经验客观化并与数值预报解释应用技术结合是提升QPF的一个方向。      

Statistical Downscaling for Multi-Model Ensemble Prediction of Summer Monsoon Rainfall in the Asia-Pacific Region Using Geopotential Height Field

The 21-yr ensemble predictions of model precipitation and circulation in the East Asian and western North Pacific （Asia-Pacific） summer monsoon region （0°-50°N, 100° 150°E） were evaluated in nine different AGCM, used in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Climate Center （APCC） multi-model ensemble seasonal prediction system. The analysis indicates that the precipitation anomaly patterns of model ensemble predictions are substantially different from the observed counterparts in this region, but the summer monsoon circulations are reasonably predicted. For example, all models can well produce the interannual variability of the western North Pacific monsoon index （WNPMI） defined by 850 hPa winds, but they failed to predict the relationship between WNPMI and precipitation anomalies. The interannual variability of the 500 hPa geopotential height （GPH） can be well predicted by the models in contrast to precipitation anomalies. On the basis of such model performances and the relationship between the interannual variations of 500 hPa GPH and precipitation anomalies, we developed a statistical scheme used to downscale the summer monsoon precipitation anomaly on the basis of EOF and singular value decomposition （SVD）. In this scheme, the three leading EOF modes of 500 hPa GPH anomaly fields predicted by the models are firstly corrected by the linear regression between the principal components in each model and observation, respectively. Then, the corrected model GPH is chosen as the predictor to downscale the precipitation anomaly field, which is assembled by the forecasted expansion coefficients of model 500 hPa GPH and the three leading SVD modes of observed precipitation anomaly corresponding to the prediction of model 500 hPa GPH during a 19-year training period. The cross-validated forecasts suggest that this downscaling scheme may have a potential to improve the forecast skill of the precipitation anomaly in the South China Sea, western North Pacific and the East Asia Pacific regions, wh     

Deficiencies and possibilities for long-lead coupled climate prediction of the Western North Pacific-East Asian summer monsoon

Long-lead prediction of waxing and waning of the Western North Pacific (WNP)-East Asian (EA) summer monsoon (WNP-EASM) precipitation is a major challenge in seasonal time-scale climate prediction. In this study, deficiencies and potential for predicting the WNP-EASM precipitation and circulation one or two seasons ahead were examined using retrospective forecast data for the 26-year period of 1981–2006 from two operational couple models which are the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System (CFS) and the Bureau of Meteorology Research Center (BMRC) Predictive Ocean–Atmosphere Model for Australia (POAMA). While both coupled models have difficulty in predicting summer mean precipitation anomalies over the region of interest, even for a 0-month lead forecast, they are capable of predicting zonal wind anomalies at 850 hPa several months ahead and, consequently, satisfactorily predict summer monsoon circulation indices for the EA region (EASMI) and for the WNP region (WNPSMI). It should be noted that the two models’ multi-model ensemble (MME) reaches 0.40 of the correlation skill for the EASMI with a January initial condition and 0.75 for the WNPSMI with a February initial condition. Further analysis indicates that prediction reliability of the EASMI is related not only to the preceding El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) but also to simultaneous local SST variability. On other hand, better prediction of the WNPSMI is accompanied by a more realistic simulation of lead–lag relationship between the index and ENSO. It should also be noted that current coupled models have difficulty in capturing the interannual variability component of the WNP-EASM system which is not correlated with typical ENSO variability. To improve the long-lead seasonal prediction of the WNP-EASM precipitation, a statistical postprocessing was developed based on the multiple linear regression method. The method utilizes the MME prediction of the EASMI and WNPSMI as predictors. It is shown that the statistical postprocessing is able to improve forecast skill for the summer mean precipitation over most of the WNP-EASM region at all forecast leads. It is noteworthy that the MME prediction, after applying statistical postprocessing, shows the best anomaly pattern correlation skill for the EASM precipitation at a 4-month lead (February initial condition) and for the WNPSM precipitation at a 5-month lead (January initial condition), indicating its potential for improving long-lead prediction of the monsoon precipitation.     

THE INDIAN SUMMER MONSOON AND SUMMER RALNFALL IN NORTH CHINA

The analyses have been made of the summer precipitation data over Indian and North China during1891—1983.The statistic results show that the climatic characteristics of the Indian summer monsoon rainfallare similar to summer rainfall in North China,and a steady and significant positive correlation exists be-tween them.The circulation systems associated with the Indian monsoon and the rainfall in North China in summerhave also been discussed.It is found that there are same predictors in April to be used for the forecast ofNorth China rainfall and Indian monsoon.     

The seasonal predictability of the Asian summer monsoon in a two-tiered forecast system

An extensive set of boreal summer seasonal hindcasts from a two tier system is compared with corresponding seasonal hindcasts from two other coupled ocean–atmosphere models for their seasonal prediction skill (for precipitation and surface temperature) of the Asian summer monsoon. The unique aspect of the two-tier system is that it is at relatively high resolution and the SST forcing is uniquely bias corrected from the multi-model averaged forecasted SST from the two coupled ocean–atmosphere models. Our analysis reveals: (a) The two-tier forecast system has seasonal prediction skill for precipitation that is comparable (over the Southeast Asian monsoon) or even higher (over the South Asian monsoon) than the coupled ocean–atmosphere. For seasonal anomalies of the surface temperature the results are more comparable across models, with all of them showing higher skill than that for precipitation. (b) Despite the improvement from the uncoupled AGCM all models in this study display a deterministic skill for seasonal precipitation anomalies over the Asian summer monsoon region to be weak. But there is useful probabilistic skill for tercile anomalies of precipitation and surface temperature that could be harvested from both the coupled and the uncoupled climate models. (c) Seasonal predictability of the South Asian summer monsoon (rainfall and temperature) does seem to stem from the remote ENSO forcing especially over the Indian monsoon region and the relatively weaker seasonal predictability in the Southeast Asian summer monsoon could be related to the comparatively weaker teleconnection with ENSO. The uncoupled AGCM with the bias corrected SST is able to leverage this teleconnection for improved seasonal prediction skill of the South Asian monsoon relative to the coupled models which display large systematic errors of the tropical SST’s.     

RCP4.5情景下中国季风区及降水变化预估

本文使用国际耦合模式比较计划第五阶段(CMIP5)中共46个全球气候模式的数值试验结果,通过对中国区域的年、夏季和冬季降水气候态的模拟能力评估,择优选取了18个气候模式用来预估RCP4.5情景下21世纪中国季风区范围、季风降水及其强度变化。结果表明,相对于1986~2004年参考时段,RCP4.5情景下多数模式和所有模式集合平均在不同时段内均模拟出中国季风区面积、季风降水及其强度的增加趋势,最明显的时段出现在2081~2099年。其中,季风区面积扩张是导致季风降水增加的主要因素。在机制上,热力与动力条件变化均有利于季风降水强度的增加以及更多的水汽进入中国东部,从而引起季风区范围的扩大。     

Projected changes in South Asian summer monsoon by multi-model global warming experiments

South Asian summer monsoon (June through September) rainfall simulation and its potential future changes are evaluated in a multi-model ensemble of global coupled climate models outputs under World Climate Research Program Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (WCRP CMIP3) dataset. The response of South Asian summer monsoon to a transient increase in future anthropogenic radiative forcing is investigated for two time slices, middle (2031–2050) and end of the twenty-first century (2081–2100), in the non-mitigated Special Report on Emission Scenarios B1, A1B and A2 .There is large inter-model variability in the simulation of spatial characteristics of seasonal monsoon precipitation. Ten out of the 25 models are able to simulate space–time characteristics of the South Asian monsoon precipitation reasonably well. The response of these selected ten models has been examined for projected changes in seasonal monsoon rainfall. The multi-model ensemble of these ten models projects a significant increase in monsoon precipitation with global warming. The substantial increase in precipitation is observed over western equatorial Indian Ocean and southern parts of India. However, the monsoon circulation weakens significantly under all the three climate change experiments. Possible mechanisms for the projected increase in precipitation and for precipitation–wind paradox have been discussed. The surface temperature over Asian landmass increases in pre-monsoon months due to global warming and heat low over northwest India intensifies. The dipole snow configuration over Eurasian continent strengthens in warmer atmosphere, which is conducive for the enhancement in precipitation over Indian landmass. No notable changes have been projected in the El Niño–Monsoon relationship, which is useful for predicting interannual variations of the monsoon.     

How are seasonal prediction skills related to models’ performance on mean state and annual cycle?

Given observed initial conditions, how well do coupled atmosphere–ocean models predict precipitation climatology with 1-month lead forecast? And how do the models’ biases in climatology in turn affect prediction of seasonal anomalies? We address these questions based on analysis of 1-month lead retrospective predictions for 21 years of 1981–2001 made by 13 state-of-the-art coupled climate models and their multi-model ensemble (MME). The evaluation of the precipitation climatology is based on a newly designed metrics that consists of the annual mean, the solstitial mode and equinoctial asymmetric mode of the annual cycle, and the rainy season characteristics. We find that the 1-month lead seasonal prediction made by the 13-model ensemble has skills that are much higher than those in individual model ensemble predictions and approached to those in the ERA-40 and NCEP-2 reanalysis in terms of both the precipitation climatology and seasonal anomalies. We also demonstrate that the skill for individual coupled models in predicting seasonal precipitation anomalies is positively correlated with its performances on prediction of the annual mean and annual cycle of precipitation. In addition, the seasonal prediction skill for the tropical SST anomalies, which are the major predictability source of monsoon precipitation in the current coupled models, is closely link to the models’ ability in simulating the SST mean state. Correction of the inherent bias in the mean state is critical for improving the long-lead seasonal prediction. Most individual coupled models reproduce realistically the long-term annual mean precipitation and the first annual cycle (solstitial mode), but they have difficulty in capturing the second annual (equinoctial asymmetric) mode faithfully, especially over the Indian Ocean (IO) and Western North Pacific (WNP) where the seasonal cycle in SST has significant biases. The coupled models replicate the monsoon rain domains very well except in the East Asian subtropical monsoon and the tropical WNP summer monsoon regions. The models also capture the gross features of the seasonal march of the rainy season including onset and withdraw of the Asian–Australian monsoon system over four major sub-domains, but striking deficiencies in the coupled model predictions are observed over the South China Sea and WNP region, where considerable biases exist in both the amplitude and phase of the annual cycle and the summer precipitation amount and its interannual variability are underestimated.     

最优TS评分方法在逐时降水订正中的初步应用及评估

使用2020年3—9月逐时更新的CMA广东短临3 km数值模式(CMA-GD(R3)模式)1~12 h逐小时降水量资料,利用最优TS评分订正方法(OTS)对逐小时降水量进行分级订正,并分别从整体和分类型降水过程预报订正效果进行了检验和对比评估。结果表明:从整体预报订正性能来看,通过OTS方法对CMA-GD(R3)模式订正后,对于≥1 mm/h及以上量级的降水,OTS均有较好的订正能力,并且随着雨强的增加,其TS评分的改善比率越大;同时,OTS可有效减少各个预报时效的漏报率和空报率,其中漏报率减小更加明显,表现出明显的湿偏差(空报偏多)。从三类暴雨过程逐时降水预报订正效果来看,通过OTS订正之后,对于≥1 mm/h的降水,OTS对三类暴雨类型均有正的订正能力。其中在0.1 mm、1 mm、10 mm、20 mm、35 mm、50 mm 6个量级上,季风型的逐时降水预报表现最好,6个量级的TS评分值分别为0.403、0.232、0.053、0.023、0.009和0.004;在5 mm量级上锋面型的逐时降水预报表现最优,其TS值为0.102。从改善效果来看,经过OTS订正后,在1 mm量级上台风型改善率最大,在5 mm和10 mm量级上锋面型改善率最大,在20 mm、35 mm和50 mm量级上季风型改善率最大。      

Seasonal climate prediction for South America with FSU Multi-model Synthetic Superensemble algorithm

Summary Objective combination schemes of predictions from different models have been applied to seasonal climate forecasts. These schemes are successful in producing a deterministic forecast superior to individual member models and better than the multi-model ensemble mean forecast. Recently, a variant of the conventional superensemble formulation was created to improve skills for seasonal climate forecasts, the Florida State University (FSU) Synthetic Superensemble. The idea of the synthetic algorithm is to generate a new data set from the predicted multimodel datasets for multiple linear regression. The synthetic data is created from the original dataset by finding a consistent spatial pattern between the observed analysis and the forecast data set. This procedure is a multiple linear regression problem in EOF space. The main contribution this paper is to discuss the feasibility of seasonal prediction based on the synthetic superensemble approach and to demonstrate that the use of this method in coupled models dataset can reduce the errors of seasonal climate forecasts over South America. In this study, a suite of FSU coupled atmospheric oceanic models was used. In evaluation the results from the FSU synthetic superensemble demonstrate greater skill for most of the variables tested here. The forecast produced by the proposed method out performs other conventional forecasts. These results suggest that the methodology and database employed are able to improve seasonal climate prediction over South America when compared to the use of single climate models or from the conventional ensemble averaging. The results show that anomalous conditions simulated over South America are reasonably realistic. The negative (positive) precipitation anomalies for the summer monsoon season of 1997/98 (2001/02) were predicted by Synthetic Superensemble formulation quite well. In summary, the forecast produced by the Synthetic Superensemble approach outperforms the other conventional forecasts.     

Active and break phases of the South American summer monsoon: MJO influence and subseasonal prediction

The role of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) in producing active and break periods of the South American (SA) monsoon and the performance of the ECMWF and NCEP models in predicting these periods at multiweek lead times are assessed. Two monsoon indices, based on precipitation and wind, are proposed to characterize these periods. The models represent well the observed association of active and break monsoon days with large scale convection and circulation anomalies. Although reproducing approximately the distribution of active and break days proportions in each phase of the MJO cycle, models produce a phase shift between observed and simulated distributions because they establish the teleconnection between Central Pacific and South America, as well as its impacts, sooner than in observations. The predictive skill of both rainfall and wind anomalies is limited to about 2 weeks, with the monsoon wind index displaying higher correlation score till week 3. The forecast performance is apparently not affected by initialization on active or break monsoon days. However, it is higher for prediction of lower precipitation in break days than heavier rainfall in active days. Wind is much better predicted than rainfall for active days, which could be used for extreme rainfall events forecast. Although relatively small at shorter lead times, the MJO contribution is the major source of rainfall predictability after week 3. To improve the multiweek prediction of SA monsoon, models need not only to predict correctly the MJO phase, but also to reproduce in the right phase the MJO-related SA rainfall anomalies.

     

Improvement of model forecast on the Asian summer rainfall anomaly with the application of a spatial filtering scheme

Summary A revised 25-point Shuman-Shapiro Spatial Filter (RSSSF) has been applied to six atmospheric circulation models and multi-model ensemble (MME) predictions, and its effect on the improvement of model forecast skill scores of the Asian summer precipitation anomaly is discussed in this paper. On the basis of 21-yr model ensemble predictions, the RSSSF can remove the unpredictable ‘noise’ with respect to the 2-grid wavelength in the model precipitation anomaly fields and maintain the large-scale counterpart, which is related to the response of the model to large-scale boundary forcing. Therefore, this could possibly enhance the forecast skill of the Asian summer rainfall anomaly in the models and the MME. The potential improvement of model forecasting skill is found in the Asian summer monsoon region, where the anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) has been improved by 7–40%, corresponding to the decreased root mean square error (RMSE) in the model and the MME precipitation anomaly forecasts.     

人工神经网络在梅雨期短期降水分级预报中的应用

将人工神经网络应用于南京夏季梅雨期短期降水分级预报。根据梅雨期天气特点,用统计和动力学方法从HLAFS（高分辨率有限区域预报系统）资料中寻找预报因子;然后分别用两种方法选取输入因子对人工神经网络进行训练,并分别利用抽取的五天做降水分级预报检验。通过对人工神经网络方法预报降水的结果与HLAFS降水预报以及逐步回归预报的结果对比发现：与HLAFS降水预报相比,降水预报准确率由原来的66．7％提高到88．2％,漏报、错报明显减少;与逐步回归预报相比,大到暴雨的预报准确率得到了明显提高。     

最优多因子动态配置的东北汛期降水相似动力预报试验

基于中国气象局国家气候中心季节预报业务模式27a(1983—2009年)预报结果和同期美国气候预报中心组合降水分析(CMAP)资料及国家气候中心气候系统诊断预报室74项环流指数和NOAA40个气候指数(1951—2009年),提出了客观定量化的最优多因子动态配置汛期降水相似-动力预测新技术,并对中国东北地区汛期降水进行了预报试验。利用历史资料有用信息估算模式预报误差原理,选取4个历史相似年对应模式误差来估算当前模式预报误差。通过单因子交叉检验距平相关系数确定主导因子及演化相似因子,结合当前及前期优化多因子组合配置确定预报因子集,最后利用历史相似年对应模式误差来估算当前模式预报误差并订正国家气候中心季节预报业务模式的预报结果,得到预报的汛期降水。对2005—2009年进行独立样本检验的结果表明,此技术对中国东北地区汛期降水有一定预报技巧。证实了利用历史资料估计业务模式预报误差的另类途径是可行的,显示了在业务预报应用中的潜在能力。     

NCEP/NCAR再分析资料所揭示的全球季风降水变化

大气模式是研究气候变化的重要工具,当前的大气模式在模拟季风降水时均存在较大偏差,目前尚不清楚该偏差是来自模式环流场还是模式物理过程.再分析资料由于同化了各类观测和卫星资料,其大气环流近似可被视作是“真实”的.再分析资料中的降水场是在基本真实的环流场强迫下,由当前最先进的数值预报模式计算输出的.因此,再分析资料的降水场能...     

Analogue-dynamical prediction of monsoon precipitation in Northeast China based on dynamic and optimal configuration of multiple predictors

Based on the National Climate Center (NCC) of China operational seasonal prediction model results for the period 1983–2009 and the US National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center merged analysis of precipitation in the same period, together with the 74 circulation indices of NCC Climate System Diagnostic Division and 40 climate indices of NOAA of US during 1951–2009, an analogue-dynamical technique for objective and quantitative prediction of monsoon precipitation in Northeast China is proposed and implemented. Useful information is extracted from the historical data to estimate the model forecast errors. Dominant predictors and the predictors that exhibit evolving analogues are identified through cross validating the anomaly correlation coefficients (ACC) among single predictors, meanwhile with reference of the results from the dynamic analogue bias correction using four analogue samples. Next, an optimal configuration of multiple predictors is set up and compared with historical optimal multi-predictor configurations and then dynamically adjusted. Finally, the model errors are evaluated and utilized to correct the NCC operational seasonal prediction model results, and the forecast of monsoon precipitation is obtained at last. The independent sample validation shows that this technique has effectively improved the monsoon precipitation prediction skill during 2005–2009. This study demonstrates that the analogue-dynamical approach is feasible in operational prediction of monsoon precipitation.     

强弱南海夏季风年广西的天气及预测概念模型

利用南海季风试验研究(1997～2000)的成果资料,对强弱南海夏季风年广西的天气作了对比研究,主要分析了雨季开始、年雨量分配及丰欠、热带气旋活动特点等方面的差异并归纳出一个简单的预测概念模型,可供业务工作者在制作年景预测上参考。     

Temperature and precipitation in the context of the annual cycle over Asia: Model evaluation and future change

Since the early or late arrival of monsoon rainfall can be devastating to agriculture and economy, the prediction of the onset of monsoon is a very important issue. The Asian monsoon is characterized by a strong annual cycle with rainy summer and dry winter. Nevertheless, most of monsoon studies have focused on the seasonal-mean of temperature and precipitation. The present study aims to evaluate a total of 27 coupled models that participated in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) for projection of the time evolution and the intensity of Asian monsoon on the basis of the annual cycle of temperature and precipitation. And future changes of onset, retreat, and intensity of monsoon are analyzed. Four models for good seasonal-mean (GSM) and good harmonic (GH) groups, respectively, are selected. GSM is based on the seasonal-mean of temperature and precipitation in summer and winter, and GH is based on the annual cycle of temperature and precipitation which represents a characteristic of the monsoon. To compare how well the time evolution of the monsoon is simulated in each group, the onset, retreat, and duration of Asian monsoon are examined. The highest pattern correlation coefficient (PCC) of onset, retreat, and duration between the reanalysis data and model outputs demonstrates that GH models’ MME predicts time evolution of monsoon most precisely, with PCC values of 0.80, 0.52, and 0.63, respectively. To predict future changes of the monsoon, the representative concentration pathway 4.5 (RCP 4.5) experiments for the period of 2073-2099 are compared with historical simulations for the period of 1979-2005 from CMIP5 using GH models’ MME. The Asian monsoon domain is expanded by 22.6% in the future projection. The onset date in the future is advanced over most parts of Asian monsoon region. The duration of summer Asian monsoon in the future projection will be lengthened by up to 2 pentads over the Asian monsoon region, as a result of advanced onset. The Asian monsoon intensity becomes stronger with the passage of time. This study has important implication for assessment of CMIP5 models in terms of the prediction of time evolution and intensity of Asian monsoon based on the annual cycle of temperature and precipitation.     

全球海气耦合模式对东亚季风降水模拟的检验

以CMAP(Climate Prediction Center Merged Analysis of Precipitation)月平均降水资料和欧洲中期天气预报中心（ECMWF）的40年再分析资料集ERA40为观测基础,分析了当前政府间气候变化专门委员会第四次评估报告（IPCC AR4）的17个全球海气耦合模式对东亚季风区夏季降水和环流的模拟能力。结果表明:(1)模式基本上都能够模拟出降水由东亚东南部海洋至东亚西北部中国内陆减少的空间分布特征,部分模式能够模拟出降水的部分主要模态;(2) 大部分模式基本上能够模拟出中国东部陆地降水的季节进退。但同时也存在相当的差异,这包括:(1)多数模式普遍存在模拟降水量偏少、降水变幅偏小的缺陷;(2)雨带的季节推进过程与观测存在一定偏差,尤其海洋上的季节进退过程模拟较差,有的模式甚至不能模拟出东亚季风区东部海洋上大致的季节进程。因此,模式对东亚季风区降水的模拟能力还是比较有限的,需要进一步改进。多模式集合的夏季环流场以偏弱为主,不利于降水的形成,这在中国东部大陆部分比较明显。另外,空气湿度模拟值偏低、从而造成水汽输送偏弱也是导致东亚季风区夏季降水模拟偏小的原因之一。     

Forecasting quantitative rainfall over India using multi-model ensemble technique

A new approach to ensemble forecasting of rainfall over India based on daily outputs of four operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) models in the medium-range timescale (up to 5 days) is proposed in this study. Four global models, namely ECMWF, JMA, GFS and UKMO available on real-time basis at India Meteorological Department, New Delhi, are used simultaneously with adequate weights to obtain a multi-model ensemble (MME) technique. In this technique, weights for each NWP model at each grid point are assigned on the basis of unbiased mean absolute error between the bias-corrected forecast and observed rainfall time series of 366 daily data of 3 consecutive southwest monsoon periods (JJAS) of 2008, 2009 and 2010. Apart from MME, a simple ensemble mean (ENSM) forecast is also generated and experimented. The prediction skill of MME is examined against observed and corresponding outputs of each constituent model during monsoon 2011. The inter-comparison reveals that MME is able to provide more realistic forecast of rainfall over Indian monsoon region by taking the strength of each constituent model. It has been further found that the weighted MME technique has higher skill in predicting daily rainfall compared to ENSM and individual member models. RMSE is found to be lowest in MME forecasts both in magnitude and area coverage. This indicates that fluctuations of day-to-day errors are relatively less in the MME forecast. The inter-comparison of domain-averaged skill scores for different rainfall thresholds further clearly demonstrates that the MME algorithm improves slightly above the ENSM and member models.