Mechanisms of diurnal precipitation over the US Great Plains: a cloud resolving model perspective

The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating.     

Climatology of summer midtropospheric perturbations in the U.S. northern plains. Part I: influence on northwest flow severe weather outbreaks

Northwest flow severe weather outbreaks (NWF outbreaks) describe a type of summer convective storm that occurs in areas of mid-level NWF in the central United States. Convective storms associated with NWF outbreaks often travel a long distance systematically along a northwest-southeast oriented track across the northern plains. Previous studies have observed that these migrating convective storms are frequently coupled with subsynoptic-scale midtropospheric perturbations (MPs) initiated over the Rocky Mountains. This study traces MPs for the decade of 1997–2006 using the North American Regional Reanalysis to examine their climatology and possible influence on NWF outbreaks. MPs are characterized by a well organized divergent circulation with persistent ascending motion at the leading edge promoting convection. The divergent circulation is further enhanced by low-level convergence along the northern terminus of the Great Plains low-level jet. The downstream propagation of MPs assists in forming the progressive feature of the associated convective storms. MPs have a maximum frequency in July, consistent with NWF outbreaks. In July and August, the fully developed North American anticyclone produces prevailing NWF over the northern plains, where up to 60% of rainfall and storm reports are linked to MPs. The movement, timing and rainfall distribution of MPs remarkably resemble those of NWF outbreaks. When encountering strong low-level jets, ascending motion and convergence of water vapor flux associated with MPs intensify considerably and precipitation is greatly enhanced. It is likely that NWF outbreaks are generated whenever MPs occur in association with strong low-level jets.     

Mid-twenty-first century warm season climate change in the Central United States. Part I: regional and global model predictions

A regional climate model (RCM) constrained by future anomalies averaged from atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) simulations is used to generate mid-twenty-first century climate change predictions at 30-km resolution over the central U.S. The predictions are compared with those from 15 AOGCM and 7 RCM dynamic downscaling simulations to identify common climate change signals. There is strong agreement among the multi-model ensemble in predicting wetter conditions in April and May over the northern Great Plains and drier conditions over the southern Great Plains in June through August for the mid-twenty-first century. Projected changes in extreme daily precipitation are statistically significant over only a limited portion of the central U.S. in the RCM constrained with future anomalies. Projected changes in monthly mean 2-m air temperature are generally consistent across the AOGCM ensemble average, North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program RCM ensemble average, and RCM constrained with future anomalies, which produce a maximum increase in August of 2.4–2.9 K over the northern and southern Great Plains and Midwest. Changes in extremes in daily 2-m air temperature from the RCM downscaled with anomalies are statistically significant over nearly the entire Great Plains and Midwest and indicate a positive shift in the warm tail of the daily 2-m temperature distribution that is larger than the positive shift in the cold tail.     

Response of evapotranspiration and water availability to the changing climate in Northern Eurasia

We introduce a probabilistic framework for vulnerability analysis and use it to quantify current and future vulnerability of the US water supply system. We also determine the contributions of hydro-climatic and socio-economic drivers to the changes in projected vulnerability. For all scenarios and global climate models examined, the US Southwest including California and the southern Great Plains was consistently found to be the most vulnerable. For most of the US, the largest contributions to changes in vulnerability come from changes in supply. However, for some areas of the West changes in vulnerability are caused mainly by changes in demand. These changes in supply and demand result mainly from changes in evapotranspiration rather than from changes in precipitation. Importantly, changes in vulnerability from projected changes in the standard deviations of precipitation and evapotranspiration are of about the same magnitude or larger than those from changes in the corresponding means over most of the US, except in large areas of the Great Plains, in central California and southern and central Texas.     

A composite study of the MJO influence on the surface air temperature and precipitation over the Continental United States

The influence of the MJO on the continental United States (CONUS) surface air temperature (SAT) and precipitation is examined based on 30?years of daily data from 1979–2008. Composites are constructed for each of the eight phases of the Wheeler-Hendon MJO index over 12 overlapping three-month seasons. To ensure that the MJO signal is distinguished from other patterns of climate variability, several steps are taken: (a) only days classified as “MJO events” are used in the composites, (b) statistical significance of associated composites is assessed using a Monte Carlo procedure, and (c) intraseasonal frequencies are matched to the unfiltered data. Composites of other fields are also shown in order to examine how the SAT and precipitation anomalies are associated with large-scale circulations providing a link between the tropics and extratropics. The strongest and most significant MJO effects on SAT are found during the northern winter seasons. When enhanced convection is located over the equatorial Indian Ocean, below-average SAT tends to occur in New England and the Great Lakes region. As enhanced tropical convection shifts over the Maritime continent, above-average SAT appears in the eastern states of the US from Maine to Florida. The MJO influence on precipitation is also significant during northern winter seasons. When enhanced convection is located over the Maritime continent, more precipitation is observed in the central plains of the US. Enhanced precipitation also occurs over the west coast of the US when convective activity is stronger over the Indian Ocean. During the northern summer and fall, the MJO impact on precipitation is mainly significant at lower latitudes, over Mexico and southeastern US.     

Impacts of the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation on the Warm-Season Rainfall over Hainan Island

This study investigates the roles of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation(BSISO) in the diurnal rainfall cycle over Hainan Island during the warm season(April-September) using 20-year satellite-based precipitation, ERA5and the outgoing longwave radiation data with the phase composite analysis method. Results show that the spatial distributions of the hourly rainfall anomaly significantly change under the BSISO phases 1-8 while no clear variations are found on the daily and anomaly daily a...     

Climate variability attributable to terrestrial and oceanic forcing in the NCAR CAM3-CLM3 Models

Based on numerical experiments using the NCAR CAM3-CLM3 models, this paper examines the impact of soil moisture, vegetation, and sea surface temperature (SST) on the inter-annual variability of climate over land. For each element, two experiments are carried out, with the inter-annual variability preserved in one experiment and eliminated in the other. Differences in the standard deviation of the precipitation and air temperature at the inter-annual time scale are used to quantify the impacts from soil moisture dynamics, vegetation dynamics, and oceanic forcing. The impact of oceanic forcing is mainly limited to the Tropics, with the strongest signal in the equatorial zone, and moisture convergence is the key linkage between SST forcing and tropical precipitation. Soil moisture plays a significant role in climate variability during the rainy seasons of all semi-arid regions (which is consistent with many previous studies), and during the dry seasons of the humid Amazon. Evapotranspiration is identified as the main mechanism linking precipitation variability to soil moisture. Amazon is the only region where vegetation dynamics has a significant influence on precipitation variability. However, the impact of vegetation dynamics on temperature is strong over the US Great Plains in all four seasons and in the Amazon region during the dry and dry-to-wet transition seasons.     

Synoptic and dynamic analysis of a flash flood-inducing heavy rainfall event in arid and semi-arid central-northern Iran and its simulation using the WRF model

The synoptic and dynamic aspects of heavy rainfall occurred on 5th May 2017 and caused flash flooding in arid and semi-arid central-northern Iran is analyzed by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This system synoptically is attributed to a surface low-pressure centered over southern Iran extended to the central parts, linking to a mid-tropospheric tilted-trough over western Iran, and advecting significant moisture from the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea to the studied area. The dynamical analysis revealed that the penetration of the upper-tropospheric potential vorticity streamer up to 300 hPa level was not related to such heavy rainfall. Contrarily, the low-level factors such as extensive moisture advection, mid-tropospheric diabatic processes such as the latent heat release, daytime deep convection, and topographical impact of Zagros Mountains were found as the key factors leading to this system. This study also examines 11 different convection schemes simulated by the WRF model and verified against rainfall observation. The forecast skills of the output simulations suggest the Grell-Devenyi scheme as the superior configuration in simulating observed precipitation of the event over the area.     

Diurnal Variation of Tropical Convection during TOGA COARE IOP

Diurnal variation of tropical convection and kinematic and thermodynamic conditions was investigated for different large-scale environments of the convectively active and inactive periods by using satellite observations and surface measurements during the Intensive Observation Period （IOP） of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere/Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment （TOGA/COARE）. During the convectively active period, the features of nocturnal convection appear in vertical profiles of convergence, vertical velocity, heat source, and moisture sink. The specific humidity increases remarkably in the middle troposphere at dawn. On the other hand, the altitude of maximum convergence and that of the upward motion is lower during the convectively inactive period. The specific humidity peaks in the lower troposphere in the daytime and decreases in the middle troposphere. Spectral analyses of the time series of the infrared （IR） brightness temperature （TBB） and amounts of rainfall suggest multiscale temporal variation with a prominent diurnal cycle over land and oceanic regions such as the Intensive Flux Array （IFA） and the South Pacific Convergence Zone （SPCZ）. Over land, the daily maximum of deep convection associated with cloud top temperature less than 208 K appears at midnight due to the daytime radiative heating and the sea-land breeze. Over the ocean, convection usually tends to occur at dawn for the convectively active period while in the afternoon during the inactive period. Comparing the diurnal variation of convection with large-scale variables, the authors inferred that moisture in the middle troposphere contributes mostly to the development of nocturnal convection over the ocean during the convectively active period.     

Atmospheric circulation anomalies during two persistent north american droughts: 1932�C1939 and 1948�C1957

We use an early twentieth century (1908?C1958) atmospheric reanalysis, based on assimilation of surface and sea level pressure observations, to contrast atmospheric circulation during two periods of persistent drought in North America: 1932?C1939 (the ??Dust Bowl??) and 1948?C1957. Primary forcing for both droughts is believed to come from anomalous sea surface temperatures (SSTs): a warm Atlantic and a cool eastern tropical Pacific. For boreal winter (October?CMarch) in the 1950s, a stationary wave pattern originating from the tropical Pacific is present, with positive centers over the north Pacific and north Atlantic ocean basins and a negative center positioned over northwest North America and the tropical/subtropical Pacific. This wave train is largely absent for the 1930s drought; boreal winter height anomalies are organized much more zonally, with positive heights extending across northern North America. For boreal summer (April?CSeptember) during the 1930s, a strong upper level ridge is centered over the Great Plains; this feature is absent during the 1950s and appears to be linked to a weakening of the Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ). Subsidence anomalies are co-located over the centers of each drought: in the central Great Plains for the 1930s and in a band extending from the southwest to the southeastern United States for the 1950s. The location and intensity of this subsidence during the 1948?C1957 drought is a typical response to a cold eastern tropical Pacific, but for 1932?C1939 deviates in terms of the expected intensity, location, and spatial extent. Overall, circulation anomalies during the 1950s drought appear consistent with the expected response to the observed SST forcing. This is not the case for the 1930s, implying some other causal factor may be needed to explain the Dust Bowl drought anomalies. In addition to SST forcing, the 1930s were also characterized by massive alterations to the land surface, including regional-scale devegetation from crop failures and intensive wind erosion and dust storms. Incorporation of these land surface factors into a general circulation model greatly improves the simulation of precipitation and subsidence anomalies during this drought, relative to simulations with SST forcing alone. Even with additional forcing from the land surface, however, the model still has difficulty reproducing some of the other circulation anomalies, including weakening of the GPLLJ and strengthening of the upper level ridge during AMJJAS. This may be due to either weaknesses in the model or uncertainties in the boundary condition estimates. Still, analysis of the circulation anomalies supports the conclusion of an earlier paper (Cook et?al. in Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:4997, 2009), demonstrating that land degradation factors are consistent with the anomalous nature of the Dust Bowl drought.     

Asian summer monsoon onset in simulations and CMIP5 projections using four Chinese climate models

The reproducibility and future changes of the onset of the Asian summer monsoon were analyzed based on the simulations and projections under the Representative Concentration Pathways(RCP) scenario in which anthropogenic emissions continue to rise throughout the 21 st century(i.e. RCP8.5) by all realizations from four Chinese models that participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5(CMIP5). Delayed onset of the monsoon over the Arabian Sea was evident in all simulations for present-day climate, which was associated with a too weak simulation of the low-level Somali jet in May.A consistent advanced onset of the monsoon was found only over the Arabian Sea in the projections, where the advanced onset of the monsoon was accompanied by an increase of rainfall and an anomalous anticyclone over the northern Indian Ocean. In all the models except FGOALS-g2, the enhanced low-level Somali jet transported more water vapor to the Arabian Sea, whereas in FGOALS-g2 the enhanced rainfall was determined more by the increased wind convergence. Furthermore,and again in all models except FGOALS-g2, the equatorial SST warming, with maximum increase over the eastern Pacific,enhanced convection in the central West Pacific and reduced convection over the eastern Indian Ocean and Maritime Continent region, which drove the anomalous anticyclonic circulation over the western Indian Ocean. In contrast, in FGOALS-g2, there was minimal(near-zero) warming of projected SST in the central equatorial Pacific, with decreased convection in the central West Pacific and enhanced convection over the Maritime Continent. The broader-scale differences among the models across the Pacific were related to both the differences in the projected SST pattern and in the present-day simulations.     

MJO对春季中国东部大气环流和降水的影响

利用再分析资料分析了MJO（Madden-Julian Oscillation）不同位相对春季中国东部降水的影响。结果表明：MJO处于位相3时对应长江及其以南地区降水增多,处于位相7时该区域降水减小。当热带MJO对流从位相1东传至位相4,与其相伴的北向辐散辐合流会在印度东北部—长江及副热带西北太平洋地区的对流层中低层产生明显的辐合异常,且在MJO位相3时中国东部的辐合异常达到最大。从Rossby波源角度分析,这种辐合异常会增强对流层中低层气旋性环流,导致MJO处于位相3时长江流域及其以南地区降水增多。同时,利用现代次季节和季节预报业务系统探讨了MJO与降水的关系对降水预报技巧的影响,发现预报降水和再分析产品的相关系数在MJO处于位相3和7时有所增加。     

Rainfall in the Garden of the United States Great Plains, 1870–1889

The recent accumulation of all published precipitation records from 1870–1889 in the central and northern Great Plains of the United States provides a renewed potential in analyzing climatic reality during early settlement, corresponding to a time when some written histories documented that the Rain followed the Plow. Growing season precipitation in the central and northern Great Plains from 1870–1889 were examined relative to modern climatic normals (1961–1990). Growing season totals mostly exhibit little changes in precipitation in the region as compared to today. Some wetter springs and summers occurred in the Dakotas during the late 1870s and early 1880s, subsequent to the drier early-mid 1870s and corresponding to the Great Dakota Boom. Wetter summers occurred over the central Plains in the mid-1880s, corresponding to increased migration in Nebraska and Kansas. Drier summers occurred during the early 1870s and inactive settlement in the early 1880s. Although increased rainfall may have been conducive for early settlement, in general the Rain did not follow the Plow, with extreme seasonal and monthly heavy precipitation events at the subregional scale perhaps playing important roles on settlers' climatic perceptions. The results of this study provide a framework in order to conduct historical climate impact analyses as well as information that can be applied towards understanding spatial climatic variations further back into time.     

Climatology of summer midtropospheric perturbations in the US northern plains. Part II: large-scale effects of the Rocky Mountains on genesis

Propagating convective storms across the US northern plains are often coupled with preexisting midtropospheric perturbations (MPs) initiated over the Rocky Mountains. A companion study (Part I) notes that such MPs occur most commonly at 12 UTC (early morning) and 00 UTC (late afternoon). Using a regional reanalysis and a general circulation model (GCM), this study investigates how such a bimodal distribution of the MP frequency is formed. The results point to two possible mechanisms working together while each has a different timing in terms of maximum effect. The diurnal evolutions between the midtropospheric flows over the Rockies and over the Great Plains are nearly out-of-phase due to inertial oscillation. During the nighttime, the westerly flows at 700?C500?mb over the Rockies intensify while flows at the same level over the Great Plains turn easterly. These two flows converge over the eastern Rockies and induce cyclonic vorticity through vortex stretching. After sunrise, the convergence dissipates and the cyclonic vorticity is redistributed by horizontal vorticity advection, moving it downstream. This process creates a climatological zonally propagating vorticity signal which, in turn, facilitates the early-morning MP genesis at 12 UTC. The analysis also reveals marked dynamic instability conducive to subsynoptic-scale disturbances in the midtroposphere over the Rockies. Strong meridional temperature gradients appear over the north-facing slopes of the Rockies due to terrain heating to the south and the presence of cooler air to the north. This feature, along with persistent vertical shear, creates a Charney?CStern type of instability (i.e. sign changes of the meridional potential vorticity gradient). Meanwhile, the development of terrain boundary layer reduces the Rossby deformation radius which, subsequently, enhances the likelihood for baroclinic short waves. Such effects are most pronounced in the late afternoon and therefore are supportive to the MP genesis around 00 UTC. Examination of GCM experiments with and without orography further supports the critical role of the Rocky Mountains and its associated boundary layer impacts on the formation of MPs.     

黑龙江省一次伴有龙卷的暖区暴雨成因分析

2014年7月19日夜间黑龙江克山出现雨强超过90 mm的短时强降水,利用常规观测资料、区域站资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料等对此次冷锋前部的暖区强降水成因进行分析。结果表明:(1)此次强降水出现在580 dagpm线附近,副高诱发的超低空急流为强降水提供了充沛的水汽和不稳定能量。(2)地面辐合线和地形抬升触发对流。高空急流东移,高空急流出口区左侧和辐散区与低层辐合相耦合促使对流快速发展增强。耦合消失,强降水则快速减弱。(3)低层暖平流明显,尤其地面具有暖锋锋生特征。强降水出现在不稳定层结和上升运动快速增强的阶段。(4)地面～200 hPa辐合层形成深厚的上升运动区,促使对流快速发展。(5)中尺度对流雨带沿地面辐合线生消。降水先出现在暖湿舌前部。随后,强降水产生的冷空气抬升暖湿空气形成冷锋特征的降水,由于强降水和冷空气的正反馈作用,降水持续时间长。冷空气势力最强时,伴随中尺度气旋性环流及0～1 km强垂直风切变有利于龙卷产生。(6)开口状地形的辐合作用、抬升及局地地形导致的中尺度环流风场对暖区降水的形成和维持作用显著。     

2005年6月湖南大暴雨过程的天气动力学诊断分析

利用NCEP分析资料和实测资料，对2005年6月初湖南大暴雨过程进行了天气动力学诊断分析。结果表明：暴雨区中上升运动和水汽辐合均大于周围区域，中低层为对流不稳定层结。暴雨区位于非地转湿Q矢量辐合强迫的次级环流上升支中，其南北两侧为非地转下沉气流，下沉气流的补偿有利于暴雨系统的维持。非地转湿Q矢量辐合区对6小时暴雨落区预报有指示意义。暴雨区位于700hPa湿位涡和850hPa湿相对位涡负值中心附近偏暖湿气流一侧。低层暖湿平流和强上升运动致使低层湿空气辐合补偿、热量上传，利于高层辐散增强，抽吸作用加强低空辐合，促使暴雨发展。     

亚洲夏季风30～60天季节内振荡对中国东部地区持续性极端降水的影响

本文基于1979～2015年中国台站观测的格点化高分辨率降水和NCEP II大气再分析逐日资料,探讨了亚洲季风区夏季30～60天大气季节内振荡（ISO）与长江中下游地区持续性降水异常的关系,重点揭示了南亚和东亚子季风区ISO的相互作用及二者协同引起长江中下游持续性极端降水的物理机制。合成分析表明,南亚和东亚ISO是通过高层辐散环流发生相互作用。在ISO位相1～3（5～7）,异常活跃（抑制）对流从赤道印度洋北传至孟加拉湾—印度次大陆区域,其伴随的高层异常辐散（辐合）环流通过补偿效应,引起南海—热带西北太平洋的异常高层辐合（辐散）,加强了局地的异常下沉（上升）运动,有利于南海—西北太平洋的异常抑制（活跃）对流发展并维持。南海—西北太平洋的异常抑制（活跃）对流伴随着显著的斜压散度,并进一步激发出一个连接南海和长江中下游的经向垂直环流圈,引起长江中下游强烈的异常上升（下沉）运动和低层水汽辐合（辐散）,使得降水持续性偏多（少）,极端降水的发生概率持续地偏高（低）,有利于（不利于）形成持续性极端降水事件。研究还表明,亚洲季风区ISO的强度存在显著的年际变化,并对长江中下游持续性极端降水的发生频次和持续时间具有调制作用。在ISO偏强（弱）年,长江中下游持续性极端降水的发生频次较高（低）,且持续时间较长（短）。     

不同太平洋年代际振荡和ENSO位相下大气水分收支变化对北半球冬季太平洋蒸发量的影响

本文利用OAFlux资料研究了1958~2015年北半球冬季太平洋蒸发量在不同厄尔尼诺—南方涛动（ENSO）和太平洋年代际振荡（PDO）位相下的分布特征,并从水汽收支的角度分析了蒸发量异常的成因,结果表明:ENSO主要影响热带东太平洋、副热带西北太平洋和中纬度北太平洋中部的蒸发量。El Ni?o（La Ni?a）时水汽在北太平洋中部异常辐散（辐合）,有利于当地大气水汽含量减小（增大）,造成蒸发量增大（减小）;副热带西北太平洋异常的水汽辐合（辐散）有利于蒸发量减小（增大）;除此以外,蒸发量在热带东太平洋蒸发量增大（减小）则主要是降水量增大（减小）导致。与此同时,ENSO对上述海区蒸发量的影响还受到PDO的调控,当PDO处于暖（冷）位相时,El Ni?o（La Ni?a）造成蒸发量异常程度在中纬度北太平洋中部显著增大,这主要是由降水量增大（减小）引起的大气水汽含量减小（增大）所致,此时对应着风暴轴异常增大（减小）;当PDO处于冷（暖）位相时,El Ni?o（La Ni?a）造成的蒸发量异常程度在副热带西北太平洋和热带东太平洋显著增大,而这与湿度变化引起的水汽平流异常程度增大紧密相关。     

近海水汽初值和对流影响一次华南前汛期沿海强降水对流系统发展过程的机理研究

本研究在对华南季风降水试验（SCMREX）观测资料分析的基础上,采用数值模拟试验探讨南海北部区域湿度场初值误差和海上对流对2014年5月8日华南沿海地区的一次强降雨过程的中尺度对流系统（MCS）的发展和移动的影响。加密探空和风廓线观测分析表明在珠江口地区有西南风和偏东风急流形成的辐合区,为对流在该地区增强发展提供了条件。增加和减少近海湿度以及关闭积云和微物理过程潜热释放,所造成的温度场以及风场的变化对广东沿海地区的对流的强度和移动路径都有明显的影响。特别是增加海上关键区的湿度,由于海上对流的发展改变了整个区域的环流,抑制了陆地上对流的发展。关闭海上关键区对流过程潜热的释放,导致低空急流到达更加偏北的位置,对流系统在模拟的后期向东北移动。通过这些试验表明,海上的湿度等要素场和对流活动对沿海地区的降雨预报有着十分重要的影响,需要进一步加强海上观测及其资料同化方法。     

An Analysis of a Meso-β System in a Mei-yu Front Using the Intensive Observation Data During CHeRES 2002

The conventional and intensive observational data of the China Heavy Rain Experiment and Study (CHeRES) are used to specially analyze the heavy rainfall process in the mei-yu front that occurred during 20-21 June 2002, focusing on the meso-β system. A mesoscale convective system (MCS) formed in the warm-moist southwesterly to the south of the shear line over the Dabie Mountains and over the gorge between the Dabie and Jiuhua Mountains. The mei-yu front and shear line provide a favorable synoptic condition for the development of convection. The GPS observation indicates that the precipitable water increased obviously about 2 3 h earlier than the occurrence of rainfall and decreased after that. The abundant moisture transportation by southwesterly wind was favorable to the maintenance of convective instability and the accumulation of convective available potential energy (CAPE). Radar detection reveals that meso-β and -γ systems were very active in the Mα CS. Several convection lines developed during the evolution of the MαCS, and these are associated with surface convergence lines. The boundary outflow of the convection line may have triggered another convection line. The convection line moved with the mesoscale surface convergence line, but the convective cells embedded in the convergence line propagated along the line. On the basis of the analyses of the intensive observation data, a multi-scale conceptual model of heavy rainfall in the mei-yu front for this particular case is proposed.