Performance Evaluation of the GRAPES Model in Wind Simulations Over South China

In the present study, the performance of the GRAPES model in wind simulation over south China was assessed. The simulations were evaluated by using surface observations and two sounding stations in south China. The results show that the GRAPES model could provide a reliable simulation of the distribution and diurnal variation of the wind. It showed a generally overestimated southerly wind speed especially over the Pearl River Delta region and the south of Jiangxi Province as well as the coastal region over south China. GRAPES also exhibited a large number of stations with the opposite surface wind directions over the east of Guangxi and the south of Jiangxi during the nocturnal- to-morning period, as well as an overall overestimation of surface wind over the coastal regions during the afternoon. Although GRAPES could simulate the general evolutional characteristics of vertical wind profile, it underestimated wind speed above 900 hPa and overestimated wind speed below 900 hPa. Though the parameterization scheme of gravity wave drag proved to be an effective method to alleviate the systematic deviation of wind simulation, GRAPES still exhibited large errors in wind simulation, especially in the lower and upper troposphere.     

An Evaluation of Tropical Cyclone Genesis Forecast over the Western North Pacificand the South China Sea from the CMA-TRAMS

Tropical cyclone (TC) genesis forecasting is essential for daily operational practices during the typhoon season.The updated version of the Tropical Regional Atmosphere Model for the South China Sea (CMA-TRAMS) offersforecasters reliable numerical weather prediction (NWP) products with improved configurations and fine resolution. Whiletraditional evaluation of typhoon forecasts has focused on track and intensity, the increasing accuracy of TC genesisforecasts calls for more comprehensive evaluation methods to assess the reliability of these predictions. This study aims toevaluate the effectiveness of the CMA-TRAMS for cyclogenesis forecasts over the western North Pacific and South ChinaSea. Based on previous research and typhoon observation data over five years, a set of localized, objective criteria has beenproposed. The analysis results indicate that the CMA-TRAMS demonstrated superiority in cyclogenesis forecasts, pre dicting 6 out of 22 TCs with a forecast lead time of up to 144 h. Additionally, over 80% of the total could be predicted 72 hin advance. The model also showed an average TC genesis position error of 218.3 km, comparable to the track errors ofoperational models according to the annual evaluation. The study also briefly investigated the forecast of Noul (2011). Theforecast field of the CMA-TRAMS depicted thermal and dynamical conditions that could trigger typhoon genesis, con sistent with the analysis field. The 96-hour forecast field of the CMA-TRAMS displayed a relatively organized three dimensional structure of the typhoon. These results can enhance understanding of the mechanism behind typhoon genesis,fine-tune model configurations and dynamical frameworks, and provide reliable forecasts for forecasters.