Westerly wind events,diurnal cycle and central Pacific El Niño warming

In the past three decades, the strongest central Pacific (CP) El Niño event was observed in 2009–2010 by satellites. When intensity of this CP El Niño reached its maximum, large diurnal variations of sea surface temperature (SST) were also observed from tropical atmosphere ocean moorings in the central equatorial Pacific. Solar radiation in the equatorial central Pacific is larger than 140 W/m², which leads to the amplitude of diurnal cycle of SST primarily determined by large-scale wind patterns. Intraseasonal westerly wind events (WWEs) can lead to an eastward displacement of the warm pool and also can weaken the trade winds in central Pacific. When the occurrence of equatorial WWEs is more than 20 days in a month, monthly mean wind speed in central equatorial Pacific has high possibility of wind speed less than 3 m/s, thus has pronounced diurnal cycle of SST. The diurnal cycle of SST will rectify daily mean SST. Reduced mixing at the base of the mixed layer and suppression of entrainment due to the accumulated effect of diurnal cycle may lead to warmer SST in the following month. This study suggests the occurrence of more diurnal SST events may contribute to the increasing intensity of the CP El Niño events.     

Severe weather reports and proximity to deep convection over Northern Argentina

Conventional surface data and quantitative estimations of precipitation are used to document the occurrence and spatial distribution of severe weather phenomena associated with deep moist convection over southeastern South America.Data used in this paper are 24-hour rainfall, maximum hourly gusts and present weather reports from the surface station network for Argentina to the north of 40°S and cover the period 2000–2005. Hourly rainfall estimated with the CMORPH technique (CPC MORPHing technique, R. J. Joyce et al., 2004) is included in the analysis in order to increase the density of the precipitation database from January 2003 to December 2005. Extreme events are detected by means of a 95th-percentile analysis of the 24-hour rainfall and wind; values greater than 30 mm and 25 m s^?1 respectively are considered extreme in the study area. These results are related to the presence of deep convection by considering the 235 K and 218 K cloud shield evolution in Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-12 Infrared (GOES-IR) imagery evaluated by the Forecasting and Tracking of Cloud Cluster (FORTRACC) technique. Rainfall above 30 mm day^?1 and present convection-related weather events tend to occur in the northeast of the country.Finally, an analysis is made of the relationship between severe phenomena and the location and lifecycle of Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) defined by the 218 K or 235 K levels. According to the reports, favorable locations for severe weather concentrate to the northeast of the cloud shield anvil centroid although most of the cases are found in the northwest. This feature can be seen in systems with anvil areas larger than 250,000 km² in association to the predominant mid-level wind shear direction from the northwest over the area. Moreover, systems with centers located north of 30°S present a more circular shape while those to the south are more elongated with a NW–SE main axis clearly related to the presence and interaction with frontal zones over the area. Most of the events occur previous to the moment when the systems reach their maximum extension, between 2 and 10 h after the initiation of the system depending on the size of the MCSs.     

A Mediterranean nocturnal heavy rainfall and tornadic event. Part I: Overview,damage survey and radar analysis

This study presents an analysis of a severe weather case that took place during the early morning of the 2nd of November 2008, when intense convective activity associated with a rapidly evolving low pressure system affected the southern coast of Catalonia (NE Spain). The synoptic framework was dominated by an upper level trough and an associated cold front extending from Gibraltar along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula to SE France, which moved north-eastward. South easterly winds in the north of the Balearic Islands and the coast of Catalonia favoured high values of 0–3 km storm relative helicity which combined with moderate MLCAPE values and high shear favoured the conditions for organized convection. A number of multicell storms and others exhibiting supercell features, as indicated by Doppler radar observations, clustered later in a mesoscale convective system, and moved north-eastwards across Catalonia. They produced ground-level strong damaging wind gusts, an F2 tornado, hail and heavy rainfall. Total lightning activity (intra-cloud and cloud to ground flashes) was also relevant, exhibiting several classical features such as a sudden increased rate before ground level severe damage, as discussed in a companion study. Remarkable surface observations of this event include 24 h precipitation accumulations exceeding 100 mm in four different observatories and 30 minute rainfall amounts up to 40 mm which caused local flash floods. As the convective system evolved northward later that day it also affected SE France causing large hail, ground level damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall.     

A numerical comparison study of cloud seeding by silver iodide and liquid carbon dioxide

A comparison study on dynamic and microphysical effects of cloud seeding by silver iodide (AgI) and liquid carbon dioxide (liquid CO₂) was made using a 3D cloud model with seeding processes. The model was initialized based on the rawinsonde sounding taken from Pinliang station located in the western China on 20 April 2001. The sounding air reflects moist and stable characteristics at middle and low layers. The model results show that the seeding by liquid CO₂ and AgI at − 15 to − 20 °C levels of cloud has almost the same dynamic effect on the simulated clouds. The seeding is able to induce the formation of weak convective cells in both seeded and unseeded regions due to latent heat released by the transformation from liquid saturation to ice saturation. However, the initial seeding conducted by liquid CO₂ in the region of maximum supercooled water with temperature of 0 to − 5 °C enable to produce much stronger dynamic effect and precipitation by forming many convective new cells at low levels in the later stage of seeded clouds. The accumulated precipitation at the surface can be increased and redistributed, and more concentrated in the downstream region of seeded clouds.     

Mixing states of cloud interstitial particles between water-soluble and insoluble materials at Mt. Tateyama,Japan: Effects of meteorological conditions

Mixing states of cloud interstitial particles between water-soluble and insoluble materials apparently differ under various cloud-forming conditions. To study the mixing states of cloud interstitial particles, we made observations at Mt. Tateyama, Japan (2300 m a.s.l.) during June 2007 using fog (> 10 μm)-cut inlets. Number concentrations of dried particles (0.3–0.5 μm diameter) selected for less-grown (LG) particles (particles smaller than 0.56 μm diameter at 88% relative humidity) were used to quantify tendencies of the growth characteristics of cloud interstitial particles. Size-segregated soot mass concentrations (< 0.4 and < 1.1 μm) were also measured for cloud interstitial particles. Three samples of cloud interstitial LG particles at 88% RH were investigated for water-soluble and insoluble components using dialysis (extraction) of water-soluble materials with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For one TEM sample with high fractions of the LG particles and high soot mass concentrations under high precipitation (2–6 mm/h), most particles (0.1–0.5 μm) were found to be water insoluble. More than half of the water-insoluble particles were considered to be soot particles showing chain aggregations of electron-opaque spherules. Regarding the other two TEM samples with low fractions of the LG particles under less intense precipitation (ca. 1 mm/h), most particles were partly water soluble. The scavenging process in the precipitating cloud can change the population of particles left behind, preferentially leaving insoluble particles according to cloud formation conditions.     

A warm season climatology of mesoscale convective systems in the Mediterranean basin using satellite data

A 3-year climatology of isolated warm season mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) was built for the Mediterranean basin using Meteosat Second Generation infrared imagery and an objective identification and tracking algorithm. A dataset of 4,718 MCS trajectories was constructed for the warm season of the period 2005–2007, which in turn was split into two subsets (deep and weak convective) according to the intensity of convection using a discriminant parameter in the MCS properties. Several parameters related to geographical, temporal, radiative, morphological, and motion related properties were calculated for each MCS. The majority of MCSs are mainly continental and strongly correlated with orography showing an increased formation from April to June when maximum is found. Initiation and dissipation time revealed a distinct diurnal cycle having a strong correlation with the typical diurnal heating cycle of the atmosphere. On average, a typical isolated MCS in the Mediterranean basin initiates between 14:00 and 17:00 local solar time, tends to be small with elongated shape, short-lived, usually moving toward northeast to southeast with a mean velocity of 36 km/h. When comparing the two MCS subsets, some notable differences were revealed. Weak convective MCSs initiate earlier, move faster, travel longer, tend to reach slightly smaller sizes, are more linear, present higher cloud top temperatures, and have lower fractions of convective cloud type areas than deep convective systems.     

Influence of drizzle on Z–M relationships in warm clouds

This paper addresses the sensitivity of the relationships between radar reflectivity (Z) and liquid water content (M) for liquid water clouds to microphysical drizzle parameters by means of simulated radar observation at a frequency of 3 GHz of modeled cumulus clouds. A power law relationship for non drizzling clouds with water content as high as 3 gm^− 3: Z_c = 0.026 M_c^1.61 is numerically derived and agreed with previous empirical relationships relative to cumulus and stratocumulus. This relationship is then used to explore the influence of drizzle on the correlation between radar reflectively and water content. Due to their large diameters with respect to cloud droplets, drizzle sized drops dominate radar reflectivity but do not carry the cloud water content so that reflectivity and liquid water content are expected to be not correlated in clouds containing drizzle. It is shown that for congestus or extreme congestus cumuli, microphysical conditions for which the Z_c–M_c relationship can be used with a tolerance of 5 and 10% are provided whereas for humilis or mediocris cumuli, the presence of drizzle breaks down the Z_c–M_c relationship whatever the situations.     

2007年夏季两次强雷电过程的气象卫星资料分析

利用FY2一C、FY2一D高时空分辨率可见光云图和FY2一C云顶亮温资料,选取了2007年6月24—25日和7月10一11日2次强雷电过程,对雷电时空分布与强雷暴云团（MCS）演变特征的相关性进行了分析。结果表明：（1）对于不同MCS来说,落雷次数和落雷密度都与MCS的强度密切相关,即MCS强度越大,对流越强,落雷次数越多,落雷密度越大。（2）落雷集中的时段主要都出现在MCS成熟之前、水平尺度为中口尺度的时段内。（3）对于同一MCS来说,在MCS成熟之前,当前以及未来1h的落雷密集区都不是位于当前大范围较低亮温区所覆盖的区域,而是位于MCS移动方向前方和最低云顶亮温中心前方TBB梯度最大的区域内,未来1h的落雷密集区比当前的落雷密集区偏东30—50km。在MCS成熟之后,落雷密集区位于MCS主体外新生的尺度小、生命史短的雷暴云团附近TBB的密集区内。     

High-resolution climatology of lightning characteristics within Central Europe

A 6-year analysis (including data of 36 million strokes) of the spatial and temporal occurrence of lightning strokes in Germany and neighbouring areas is presented. The analysis on a high-resolution grid with spatial resolution of 1 km allows assessing the local risk of lightning and studying local effects, e.g. the influence of orography on the occurrence of thunderstorms. The analysis reveals spatial and temporal patterns: the highest number of lightning strokes occurs in the pre-alpine region of southern Germany, further local maxima exists in low mountain ranges. The lowest number of lightning strokes is present in areas of the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Despite a high year-to-year variability of lightning rates, on average a clear annual cycle (maximum June to August) and diurnal cycle (maximum in the afternoon) are present. In addition to this well-known annual and diurnal pattern, the analysis shows that those are intertwined: the diurnal cycle has an annual cycle, visible in the time of daily maximum which occurs later in the afternoon in summer compared to spring and autumn. Furthermore, the annual cycle of lightning is varying geographically, e.g. offshore and coastal regions show a lower amplitude of the annual cycle and a later maximum (autumn) compared to inland (mountainous) regions. In addition, the annual and diurnal cycles of lightning attributes are analysed. The analysis reveals rising height of inner-cloud lightning during the year with a maximum in late summer.     

Lightning flash climatology in the southern great lakes region

Abstract

We have made a preliminary study of cloud‐to‐ground lightning over southern Ontario and the adjoining Great Lakes region. The lightning data set, using magnetic direction finding, is sufficiently accurate to study lightning climatology. Cloud‐to‐ground flash totals have been found for the three warm seasons 1989–91. A large variation in flash total, lightning‐day frequency and number of high flash density storms occurs over the area, with the maximum in southwestern Ontario. The area of the maximum also has a strong diurnal cycle and relatively few positive flashes. Several physical causes may contribute to this. Lake areas usually have slightly fewer flashes than nearby land areas and warm water usually has more flashes than cold water. The Great Lakes do produce more lightning than ocean areas. Convergence lines of lake breezes and other lake circulations can, however, be sites for storms with intense lightning. High surface temperature and moisture leads to an increase in lightning generation. Over land, upslope flow increases lightning‐producing storms and downslope flow decreases them. High flash density storms may be favoured by smooth rather than rough ground, and by open farmland rather than forest. On the other hand, there does not seem to be a clear urban effect increasing lightning in the Great Lakes     

华北一次强对流天气系统的地闪时空演变特征分析

利用地面雷电探测网,多普勒天气雷达和常规天气资料,分析了2005年8月1日发生在山东北部的一次具有前部对流线,后部大范围层状云降水(LLTS)的典型中尺度对流系统(MCS)的闪电活动演变特征。结果表明:整个过程中负地闪占主导地位,最高频数达到260次/5min;与负地闪比较,正地闪呈现不活跃状态。负地闪主要落在>40 dBz的强回波区内部及其边缘区域,而正地闪则分布在前部云砧和后部层状云降水区内。对地闪位置与回波强度的进一步对比分析发现,45~55 dBz的回波是最有利于地闪发生的区域,回波强度低于这一区域,随着回波强度的增大,地闪活动呈递增趋势,地闪频数在50~55 dBz的回波区域内达到峰值,>55 dBz的回波区域内地闪频数明显降低。     

Measurements and simulation of the M-component current and simultaneous electromagnetic fields at 60 m and 550 m

Simultaneous measurements of the M-component current (surges superimposed on lightning continuing currents) and the corresponding electromagnetic fields at 60 m and 550 m from the lightning channel are analyzed and simulated with a two-wave model. The measured results reveal that the M-component current at the bottom of the channel exhibits a V-shape character with a leading edge of 78 μs and a trailing edge of 194 μs, while the electric field pulses at 60 m and 550 m have trailing edges faster than leading edges. The peak of the M-component current lags behind the electric field peak by tens of microseconds, when the distance increases to 550 m, the disparity of the time shift increases as well. However, the waveshape of the M-component current is similar to that of the magnetic field pulse. The M-component electric fields at 60 m and 550 m are 1.16 kV/m and 0.17 kV/m, respectively, and exhibit a logarithmic distance dependence which implies that the M-component charge density increases with height. Additionally, a two-wave model is used to examine the sensitivity of the predicted electric and magnetic fields to the speed and current reflection coefficient variations of the M-component. The simulated results show that the effects are different for the electric and magnetic fields. The M-component speed essentially controls the electric field, but has little effect on the magnetic field. Larger reflection coefficient results in a larger magnetic field, but a smaller electric field.     

Microphysical and radiative effects of ice clouds on diurnal variations of tropical convective and stratiform rainfall

Microphysical and radiative effects of ice clouds on diurnal variations of tropical convective and stratiform rainfall are examined with the equilibrium simulation data from three experiments conducted with a two-dimensional cloud resolving model with imposed temporally and zonally invariant winds and sea surface temperature and zero mean vertical velocity. The experiment without ice radiative effects is compared with the control experiment with ice microphysics (both the ice radiative and microphysical effects) to study effects of ice radiative effects on diurnal rainfall variations whereas it is compared with the experiment without ice microphysics to examine ice microphysical effects on the diurnal rainfall variations. The ice radiative processes mainly affect diurnal cycle of convective rainfall whereas the ice microphysical processes have important impacts on the diurnal cycles of both convective and stratiform rainfall. Turning off the ice radiative effects generally enhances convective rainfall during the morning and evening and suppresses convective rainfall in the afternoon whereas turning off the ice microphysical effects generally suppresses convective and stratiform rainfall during the morning and enhances convective and stratiform rainfall in the afternoon and evening. The ice radiative and microphysical effects on the diurnal cycle of surface rainfall are mainly associated with that of vapor condensation and deposition, which is controlled by air temperature through saturation specific humidity. The ice effects on the diurnal cycle of local temperature tendency are largely explained by that of latent heating since the diurnal cycle of radiation is insensitive to the ice effects.     

Description and first results of an explicit electrical scheme in a 3D cloud resolving model

The three-dimensional non-hydrostatic mesoscale model MésoNH of the French community offers the numerical environment to develop a cloud electrification scheme in a consistent way with the original mixed phase microphysical scheme. The charge separation mechanisms are entirely due to non-inductive processes and result from elastic ice–snow, ice–graupel and snow–graupel collisions. The electric charges carried by each of the five hydrometeor categories are transported along the airflow and are exchanged according to the various microphysical mass transfer rates but assuming a power law distribution of the individual charges as a function of the particle size. The electric field is diagnosed at each time step after integrating the electric potential induced by a net charge density in the Poisson equation. Finally, a lightning ash is triggered when the electric field locally steps over a given threshold. It propagates in two opposite directions until the magnitude of the electric field falls below a prescribed value. A fractal branching algorithm is then activated to extend lightning streamers away from the main channel and toward cloudy regions where substantial charge densities are present. Charges are neutralized along the tortuous lightning path with a simple procedure that preserves total charge conservation.The complete electrification scheme tested for an ideal case of vigorous supercellular storm shows an intense electrical activity all along its lifecycle. We show that the model is able to produce a direct tripolar structure of the charges as the result of a temperature charge reversal of − 10 °C and of the different sedimentation rates of the hydrometeors.     

Kinematics and Microphysical Characteristics of the First Intense Rainfall Convective Storm Observed by Jiangsu Polarimetric Radar Network

The polarimetric radar network in Jiangsu Province has just been operationalized since 2020. The first intense precipitation event observed by this polarimetric radar network and disdrometer occurred during August 28-29, 2020 and caused severe flooding and serious damage in eastern Jiangsu Province. The microphysics and kinetics for this heavy precipitation convective storm is diagnosed in this study, in order to promote the application of this polarimetric radar network. Drop size distribution(...     

闪电定位和雷达观测资料在云分析中的应用及数值试验

本文针对2016年6月山西、山东地区一次强对流活动,通过GRAPES（Global/Regional Assimilation andPrediction Enhanced System）云分析系统融合了多普勒雷达反射率三维组网拼图资料和ADTD（Active DirectoryTopology Diagrammer）闪电定位资料,对模式初始场的云水、云冰等云微物理变量进行了调整和分析,并对这次强对流过程设计了3组数值试验。结果表明:（1）云分析系统在加入雷达反射率资料以后,能在模式初始场中较准确的计算模式的初始水物质;（2）闪电定位资料转换成的替代雷达反射率对原有的雷达反射率有一定的补充作用,使模式的初始场与真实状况更接近;（3）从模式降水的角度看,在加入雷达资料以后,GRAPES云分析可以显著提高6小时以内降水的模拟效果,而闪电定位资料的加入,对中雨以上量级的降水模拟有进一步的改进作用。     

重庆地区一次雷暴云电过程及其对初始云滴数浓度响应的数值模拟

采用耦合了Saunders和Takahashi两种非感应起电参数化方案的RAMS(Regional Atmospheric Modeling System)模式,对重庆地区一次雷暴过程进行模拟,对比分析了两种起电参数化方案下,电荷开始分离时和雷暴云发展到成熟阶段时的水成物粒子的分布、所带电荷密度以及雷暴云的电荷结构分布。模拟结果表明,在Saunders起电参数化方案下,雷暴云的电荷结构从起电到放电都呈现偶极性特征,而在Takahashi参数化方案下,雷暴云的电荷结构则由反偶极性发展成正偶极性。为研究CCN(cloud condensation nuclei)对雷暴云的影响,本文进行了两组敏感性试验,随着云滴初始数浓度增加,雷暴云的电荷结构没有发生极性翻转,但雷暴云中电荷量增加,电荷分布区域变大,有利于闪电发生。在Saunders起电参数化方案下,当云滴初始数浓度大于2 000 cm-3时,电荷量变小。通过分析微物理量场和微物理过程发现,随着云滴初始数浓度增加,冰相粒子质量混合比增加,在Saunders起电参数化方案下,当云滴初始数浓度大于2 000 cm-3时,霰粒子质量混合比减小。验证了CCN的变化能影响云的微物理过程,从而影响雷暴云的电荷分布以及闪电的发生,尤其是冰相物质的变化显著影响了雷暴云的起电过程。     

Influence of regional pollution and sandstorms on the chemical composition of cloud/fog at the summit of Mt. Taishan in northern China

Cloud/fog samples were collected during spring of 2007 in the highly polluted North China Plain in order to examine the impact of pollution and dust particles on cloud water chemistry. The volume weighted mean pH of cloud water was 3.68. The cloud acidity was shown to be associated with air mass origins. Cloud water with its air mass trajectories originating from the southern part of China was more acidic than those from northern China. Anthropogenic source and dust had obvious impact on cloud water composition as indicated by the very high mean concentrations of SO₄^2? (1331.65 μeq L^? 1), NO₃^? (772.44 μeq L^? 1), NH₄⁺ (1375.92 μeq L^? 1) and Ca²⁺ (625.81 μeq L^? 1) in the observation periods. During sandstorm days, cloud pH values were relatively high, and the concentrations of all the ions in cloud water reached unusual high levels. Significant decreases in the mass concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were observed during cloud events. The average scavenging ratio for PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ was 52.0% and 55.7%, respectively. Among the soluble ions in fine particles, NO₃^?, K⁺ and NH₄⁺ tend to be more easily scavenged than Ca²⁺ and Na⁺.     

气溶胶浓度对暖云不同生长阶段物理特征影响的模拟研究

基于云微物理过程完善的TAU2D分档云模式, 模拟研究了用热泡扰动生成的暖云在不同气溶胶数浓度(Na)背景条件下各演变阶段云微物理量的变化特征。结果表明: 在暖云的发展过程中Na越高, 云滴尺度变小, 云滴间的碰并增长发动较晚, 云滴谱因碰并增长而实现的滴谱拓宽变弱, 云滴谱相对较窄, 云滴谱标准差较小, 因此云体发展越缓慢, 云体生命周期越长, 形成降水就越晚; 反之, 云滴尺度越大, 碰并增长发动越早, 云滴谱拓宽更明显, 云滴谱标准差越大, 云体生命周期相对更短, 降水开始时刻越早。高Na背景下, 碰并阶段云滴谱较凝结阶段更宽, 沉降阶段因云体下沉蒸发导致小尺度云滴减少, 使其滴谱较碰并阶段略有拓宽。在凝结阶段, 低气溶胶背景下云滴数浓度(N)和离散度(ε)间呈现正相关关系, 而高气溶胶背景下两者为负相关关系。在碰并阶段, N与ε的相关性关系为负相关, 且随着气溶胶数浓度的增加, 负相关程度降低。在沉降阶段, N和ε间为负相关关系。     

江西省地闪气候特征及其活动强弱评价方法探讨

为科学评价雷电活动强弱和为雷电预报的效果检验提供参考依据,基于2003—2010年江西省闪电监测定位系统资料,分析了逐小时的闪电频数变化,发现0.01°×0.01°经/纬度分辨率格点上的地闪频数最大值出现在2004年9月18日17:00—18:00,为64次/h;相较其他时段而言,16:00—17:00闪电活动最强。基于地闪观测资料、探空及多普勒雷达资料,分析了雷达回波强度与地闪数的相关性统计特征发现,在0.1°×0.1°经纬度网格点上,0℃层以上最大回波强度大值与相应时段内的地闪频数大值常不一一对应,但地闪频数大值多出现在强回波附近。格点上的12 min内的地闪数大都≤60个,以1—20个为最多;地闪数≥40个的格点数则明显减少;对应的0℃层以上最大回波强度集中于35—60 dBz,回波强度≤35 dBz或≥60 dBz的格点数则明显偏少。回波强度介于45—55 dBz的格点数明显大于回波强度>55 dBz以及<45 dBz的格点数,表明这个区间内的闪电活动最强。因此,借助0℃以上最大回波强度可简单地区分闪电活动强弱。