Utility of high-resolution climate model simulations for water resources prediction over the Korean Peninsula: a sensitivity study / Utilité de simulations de modèle climatique à haute résolution pour la prévision des ressources en eau dans la Péninsule Coréenne: étude de sensibilité

Abstract

Abstract The utility of simulations of Global Climate Models (GCMs) for regional water resources prediction and management on the Korean Peninsula was assessed by a probabilistic measure. Global Climate Model simulations of an indicator variable (e.g. surface precipitation or temperature) were used for discriminating high vs low regional observations of a target variable (e.g. watershed precipitation or reservoir inflow). The formulation uses the significance probability of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for detecting differences between two distributions. High resolution Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project-II (AMIP-II) type GCM simulations performed by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and AMIP-I type GCM simulations performed by the Korean Meteorological Research Institute (METRI) were used to obtain information for the indicator variables. Observed mean areal precipitation and temperature, and watershed-outlet discharge values for seven major river basins in Korea were used as the target variables. The results suggest that the use of the climate model nodal output from both climate models in the vicinity of the target basin with monthly resolution will be beneficial for water resources planning and management analysis that depends on watershed mean areal precipitation and temperature, and outlet discharge.     

Effect of urbanization on the winter precipitation distribution in Beijing area

According to the urbanization extent of Beijing area, and with 1980 as a turning point, the duration from 1961 to 2000 is divided into two periods: one is defined as the slow urbanization period from 1961 to 1980, and other one as the fast urbanization period from 1981 to 2000. Based on the 40-year’s precipi-tation data of 14 standard weather stations in Beijing area, the effect of urbanization on precipitation distribution is studied. It is found that there has been a noticeable and systematic change of wi...     

Science of Nowcasting Olympic Weather for Vancouver 2010 (SNOW-V10): a World Weather Research Programme Project

A World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) project entitled the Science of Nowcasting Olympic Weather for Vancouver 2010 (SNOW-V10) was developed to be associated with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games conducted between 12 February and 21 March 2010. The SNOW-V10 international team augmented the instrumentation associated with the Winter Games and several new numerical weather forecasting and nowcasting models were added. Both the additional observational and model data were available to the forecasters in real time. This was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate existing capability in nowcasting and to develop better techniques for short term (0–6 h) nowcasts of winter weather in complex terrain. Better techniques to forecast visibility, low cloud, wind gusts, precipitation rate and type were evaluated. The weather during the games was exceptionally variable with many periods of low visibility, low ceilings and precipitation in the form of both snow and rain. The data collected should improve our understanding of many physical phenomena such as the diabatic effects due to melting snow, wind flow around and over terrain, diurnal flow reversal in valleys associated with daytime heating, and precipitation reductions and increases due to local terrain. Many studies related to these phenomena are described in the Special Issue on SNOW-V10 for which this paper was written. Numerical weather prediction and nowcast models have been evaluated against the unique observational data set now available. It is anticipated that the data set and the knowledge learned as a result of SNOW-V10 will become a resource for other World Meteorological Organization member states who are interested in improving forecasts of winter weather.     

近10年来北京夏季城市热岛的变化及环境效应的分析研究

根据1993～2003年北京地区气象台站7、8月的温度资料,分析研究了近10年来北京夏季城市热岛的变化及其环境效应.结果表明：北京夏季城市热岛的水平范围扩大到近郊区和远郊区的通州,分布特征也由“单中心”转变为“多中心”;平均热岛强度呈逐渐增强趋势,在夏季出现了强热岛;北京夏季出现热岛和强热岛的天数激增,7月最大热岛强度也呈逐年上升趋势;热岛的强度和水平分布都有明显的日变化;由于热岛效应使城区增温显著,北京夏季的高温日（Tmax≥35℃）也逐年增多. 本文还指出朝阳区气象观测站由于周围高大植被的影响,观测资料已不具备城区代表性.同时也证明绿化对降低城市热岛效应是极为有效的.本文的研究成果对北京城市发展和规划有一定的科学参考价值.     

Understanding the dynamical-microphysical-electrical processes associated with severe thunderstorms over the Beijing metropolitan region

The Dynamical-microphysical-electrical Processes in Severe Thunderstorms and Lightning Hazards(STORM973)project conducted coordinated comprehensive field observations of thunderstorms in the Beijing metropolitan region(BMR)during the warm season from 2014 to 2018.The aim of the project was to understand how dynamical,microphysical and electrical processes interact in severe thunderstorms in the BMR,and how to assimilate lightning data in numerical weather prediction models to improve severe thunderstorm forecasts.The platforms used in the field campaign included the Beijing Lightning Network(BLNET,consisting of 16 stations),2 X-band dual linear polarimetric Doppler radars,and 4 laser raindrop spectrometers.The collaboration also made use of the China Meteorological Administration’s mesoscale meteorological observation network in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.Although diverse thunderstorm types were documented,it was found that squall lines and multicell storms were the two major categories of severe thunderstorms with frequent lightning activity and extreme rainfall or unexpected local short-duration heavy rainfall resulting in inundations in the central urban area,influenced by the terrain and environmental conditions.The flash density maximums were found in eastern Changping District,central and eastern Shunyi District,and the central urban area of Beijing,suggesting that the urban heat island effect has a crucial role in the intensification of thunderstorms over Beijing.In addition,the flash rate associated with super thunderstorms can reach hundreds of flashes per minute in the central city regions.The super(5%of the total),strong(35%),and weak(60%)thunderstorms contributed about 37%,56%,and 7%to the total flashes in the BMR,respectively.Owing to the close connection between lightning activity and the thermodynamic and microphysical characteristics of the thunderstorms,the lightning flash rate can be used as an indicator of severe weather events,such as hail and short-duration heavy rainfall.Lightning data can also be assimilated into numerical weather prediction models to help improve the forecasting of severe convection and precipitation at the cloud-resolved scale,through adjusting or correcting the thermodynamic and microphysical parameters of the model.     

Numerical simulation for the coupling effect of local atmospheric circulations over the area of Beijing,Tianjin and Hebei Province

Using the model system MM5.V3 and multi-layer grid nesting technique, we have done a multi-scale numerical simulation over the area of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province to analyze the temperature and wind field there and study its local circulations. The results show a coupling effect of Urban Heat Island Circulation (UHIC), Mountain Valley Breeze (MVB) and Sea Land Breeze (SLB) occurs in this area when the synoptic system is weak. The SLB can penetrate deep into the mainland for about 200 km when it is blooming. MVB can extend to south and cover almost the whole plain area in Beijing. Both MVB and SLB are diurnal periodical; meanwhile the phase of MVB drops behind that of SLB for about six hours. As a local circulation, the UHIC weakens the two circulations above, and it also has a diurnal period. As a result, the coupling effect of circulations reveals not only different features in spring-summer period and autumn-winter period in a year but also the difference between early morning to noonday and afternoon to night in a day. We noted the diffusion of contamination over the area around Beijing, and found the steady presence of a transport routine of contamination over North-China throughout the year caused by the Coupling Effect mentioned above. This find is important for studying the environment pollution in this area. Supported by Central Public Welfare Special Fund Program for the Institute and Higher Education (Grant No. IUMKY200701), Public Welfare Special Fund Program (Meteorology) of China Scientific and Technological Ministry (Grant Nos. CYHY20080620, CYHY200706004), Spread New Technology Program of China Meteorological Administration (Grant No. CMATG2007M15) and Urban Meteorology Scientific Research Fund Program of the Institute of Beijing Urban Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration (Grant No. UMRF200702)     

北京地区夏季城市气候趋势和环境效应的分析研究

本文利用1994～2003年北京市11个气象台站的7、8月夏季常规地面观测资料,并结合中国科学院大气物理研究所325m高铁塔观测资料,分析了近10年的城市化进程对北京市夏季城市气候造成的影响. 结果表明,各气象要素变化都突现了城市化进程的影响：(1)城区相对湿度较郊区明显偏小,呈现一“干岛”特征,且相对湿度呈逐年下降趋势;(2)降水方面,近10年来,北京市的夏季降水量逐年下降非常明显;(3)平均日蒸发量和日照时数城区大于郊区;(4)虽然城区能见度明显小于郊区,但总体来讲,1999年以后,北京地区的能见度趋好;(5)地温同样存在城市热岛现象;(6)北京地区35℃以上高温天数基本呈增多趋势,且城区高温天数明显多于郊区;(7)边界层强逆温的存在有利于城市夏季强热岛的出现.     

Suitability of CLIGEN precipitation estimates based on an updated database and their impacts on urban runoff: a case study of the Great Lakes Region,USA

ABSTRACT

Weather generators rely on historical meteorological records to simulate time series of synthetic weather sequences, the quality of which has direct influence on model applications. The climate generator CLIGEN’s database has recently been updated to comprise consistent historical records from 1974 to 2013 (updated CLIGEN database, UCD) compared to the current database in which records are of different lengths. In this study, CLIGEN’s performance in estimating precipitation using UCD (eight stations) and the subsequent impact on urban runoff simulations (371 stations) were evaluated in the Great Lakes Region, USA. Generally, UCD-based precipitation could replicate observed daily precipitation up to the 99.5th percentile, but maximum precipitation was underestimated. Results from the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment model using UCD-based precipitation showed about 0.57 billion cubic meters more (14.9%) average annual runoff being simulated compared with simulations based on the current CLIGEN database. Overall, CLIGEN with the updated database was found suitable for providing precipitation estimates and for use with modeling urban runoff or urbanization effects.     

Is the soil moisture precipitation feedback enhanced by heterogeneity and dry soils? A comparative study

The interaction between the land surface and the atmosphere is a crucial driver of atmospheric processes. Soil moisture and precipitation are key components in this feedback. Both variables are intertwined in a cycle, that is, the soil moisture – precipitation feedback for which involved processes and interactions are still discussed. In this study the soil moisture – precipitation feedback is compared for the sempiternal humid Ammer catchment in Southern Germany and for the semiarid to subhumid Sissili catchment in West Africa during the warm season, using precipitation datasets from the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), from the German Weather Service (REGNIE) and simulation datasets from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and the hydrologically enhanced WRF-Hydro model. WRF and WRF-Hydro differ by their representation of terrestrial water flow. With this setup we want to investigate the strength, sign and variables involved in the soil moisture – precipitation feedback for these two regions. The normalized model spread between the two simulation results shows linkages between precipitation variability and diagnostic variables surface fluxes, moisture flux convergence above the surface and convective available potential energy in both study regions. The soil moisture – precipitation feedback is evaluated with a classification of soil moisture spatial heterogeneity based on the strength of the soil moisture gradients. This allows us to assess the impact of soil moisture anomalies on surface fluxes, moisture flux convergence, convective available potential energy and precipitation. In both regions the amount of precipitation generally increases with soil moisture spatial heterogeneity. For the Ammer region the soil moisture – precipitation feedback has a weak negative sign with more rain near drier patches while it has a positive signal for the Sissili region with more rain over wetter patches. At least for the observed moderate soil moisture values and the spatial scale of the Ammer region, the spatial variability of soil moisture is more important for surface-atmosphere interactions than the actual soil moisture content. Overall, we found that soil moisture heterogeneity can greatly affect the soil moisture – precipitation feedback.     

Correlation of atmospheric occurences over the United States with some physical and chemical parameters. Part III: Frequencies of precipitation

Summary Correlation between some physical and chemical variables, measured at 28 stations of the United States Weather Bureau Network, and seasonal and annual frequencies of precipitation, has been attempted with the aim of gaining insight into the bearing of such variables, on occurrence of precipitation. — Concurrent trends of frequencies with local temperature functions, altitude parameters, precipitable water vapour increments, and some chemical species have been found.Contribution of the «Centro Nucleazione Aerosoli» of the National Research Council of Italy, Via Vettore 4 (Monte Sacro),Roma.     

Numerical simulation on the evolution of cloud particles in 3-D convective cloud

A 3-D convective cloud model with compressible non-hydrostatic dynamics and the spectral bin microphysics of a 2-D slab-symmetric model has been used to simulate an observed supercell storm occurring on 29 June, 2000 near Bird City, Kansas, USA. The main objective of this paper is to study the evolution of particles in this convective storm with bin spectral microphysics scheme. Graupels form and grow through two mechanisms, deposition and riming, with the riming process dominant on top of the inflow and in the upper portion of main updraft. Over the outflow and during the developing and mature stages of the storm, graupel particles mainly grow through deposition with dominant unimodal spectra. Most fall out after growing up. Reducing initial relative humidity disturbance (increasing initial potential temperature disturbance) has negative impact on the formation and growth of graupels over the inflow (outflow). This study shows that large graupel and hail could be suppressed by altering the deposition and coalescence process over the inflow and main updraft. At different locations of the convective cells and with different initial humidity and potential temperature disturbance, the graupel formation and growth mechanisms are different, so as to the feasible hail suppression locations and methods. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40537034, 40805057), and Foundation of Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education in Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (Grant No. KLME060202)     

The diurnal and seasonal characteristics of urban heat island variation in Beijing city and surrounding areas and impact factors based on remote sensing satellite data

Based on the land surface temperature (LST), the land cover classification map,vegetation coverage, and surface evapotranspiration derived from EOS-MODIS satellite data, and by the use of GIS spatial analytic technique and multivariate statistical analysis method, the urban heat island (UHI) spatial distribution of the diurnal and seasonal variabilities and its driving forces are studied in Beijing city and surrounding areas in 2001. The relationships among UHI distribution and landcover categories, topographic factor, vegetation greenness, and surface evapotranspiration are analyzed. The results indicate that: (i) The significant UHI occur in Beijing city areas in the four seasons due to high heat capacity and multi-reflection of compression building, as well as with special topographic features of its three sides surrounded by mountains,especially in the summer. The UHI spatial distribution is corresponding with the urban geometry structure profile. The LST difference is approximately 4-6℃ between Beijing city and suburb areas, comparatively is 8- 10℃ between Beijing city area and outer suburb area in northwestern regions. (ii) The UHI distribution and intensity in daytime are different from nighttime in Beijing city area, the nighttime UHI is obvious. However, in the daytime, the significant UHI mainly appears in the summer, the autumn takes second place, and the UHI in the winter and the spring seem not obvious. The surface evapotranspiration in suburb areas is larger than that in urban areas in the summer, and high latent heat exchange is evident, which leads to LST difference between city area and suburb area. (iii) The reflection of surface landcover categories is sensitive to the UHI, the correlation between vegetation greenness and UHI shows obviously negative.The scatterplot shows that there is the negative correlation between NDVI and LST (R2 = 0.6481).The results demonstrate that the vegetation greenness is an important factor for reducing the UHI,and large-scale construction of greenbelts can considerably reduce the UHI effect.     

超大城市热岛效应的季节变化特征及其年际差异

本文以超大城市上海为例,分析了近50年四季城郊温差的总体变化趋势,同时利用城市化进程中4个年份(1987、1990、1997和2004年)9个气象站的气温数据,重点研究了上海地区热岛效应的季节变化特征及年际差异.结果表明,近50年来上海城郊温差逐年显著增长,年平均热岛天数频率为86.0%,年平均热岛强度为1.17 ℃,秋季热岛频率和强度高于其他季节,累积热岛强度也最大.不同时刻热岛的特征表明,夜间热岛(2∶00,20∶00时刻)累积强度在四季都较大,在春、夏季14∶00时刻热岛累积强度较大,而在秋、冬季8∶00时刻热岛累积强度较大.进一步分析表明,热岛效应的四季差异主要在于较强热岛和强热岛出现频率的差异;秋季大气最稳定的F类型比例较高可能是热岛效应更加显著的原因之一.四个年份对比分析表明,1997年之前的三个年份,热岛效应的四季差异比较显著.之后,随着年代的推移,四季累积热岛强度逐渐趋于均化,并且夏季低强度热岛有向中强热岛和强热岛转化的趋势,一定程度上反映了夏季人为热的贡献.     

Observation of Sea Breeze Front and its Induced Convection over Chennai in Southern Peninsular India Using Doppler Weather Radar

Sea breeze, the onshore wind over a coastal belt during daytime, is a welcoming weather phenomenon as it modulates the weather condition by moderating the scorching temperature and acts as a favourable mechanism to trigger convection and induce precipitation over coastal and interior locations. Sea breeze aids dispersal of pollutants as well. Observational studies about its onset, depth of circulation and induced precipitation have been carried out in this paper for the period April to September, 2004–2005 using a S-band Doppler Weather Radar functioning at Cyclone Detection Radar Station, India Meteorological Department, Chennai, India. The onset of sea breeze has been observed to be between 0900 and 1000 UTC with the earliest onset at 0508 UTC and late onset at 1138 UTC. The frequency is greater during the southwest monsoon season, viz., June – September and the frequency of initial onset is greater in north Chennai. The modal length of sea breeze is between 20 and 50 km with extreme length as high as 100 km also having been observed. Though the inland penetration is on average 10 to 20 km, penetration reaching 100 km was also observed on a number of cases. The induced convection could be seen in the range 50–100 km in more than 53% of the cases. The mean depth of sea breeze circulation is 300–600 m but may go well beyond 1000 m on conducive atmospheric conditions.     

Evaluation of precipitation products over complex mountainous terrain: A water resources perspective

The availability of in situ measurements of precipitation in remote locations is limited. As a result, the use of satellite measurements of precipitation is attractive for water resources management. Combined precipitation products that rely partially or entirely on satellite measurements are becoming increasingly available. However, these products have several weaknesses, for example their failure to capture certain types of precipitation, limited accuracy and limited spatial and temporal resolution. This paper evaluates the usefulness of several commonly used precipitation products over data scarce, complex mountainous terrain from a water resources perspective. Spatially averaged precipitation time series were generated or obtained for 16 sub-basins of the Paute river basin in the Ecuadorian Andes and 13 sub-basins of the Baker river basin in Chilean Patagonia. Precipitation time series were generated using the European Centre for Medium Weather Range Forecasting (ECMWF) 40 year reanalysis (ERA-40) and the subsequent ERA-interim products, and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis dataset 1 (NCEP R1) hindcast products, as well as precipitation estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN). The Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) 3B42 is also used for the Ecuadorian Andes. These datasets were compared to both spatially averaged gauged precipitation and river discharge. In general, the time series of the remotely sensed and hindcast products show a low correlation with locally observed precipitation data. Large biases are also observed between the different products. Hydrological verification based on river flows reveals that water balance errors can be extremely high for all evaluated products, including interpolated local data, in basins smaller than 1000 km². The observations are consistent over the two study regions despite very different climatic settings and hydrological processes, which is encouraging for extrapolation to other mountainous regions.     

广州市不同类型水体轮虫群落结构的时空变动及与理化因子间的关系

轮虫是水体中重要的浮游生物类群,对环境变化敏感,是水生态系统中食物链及微型食物网的关键环节.于2015年夏季(7月)和冬季(12月)对养殖池塘、水库、广州城市湖泊、珠江河口及珠江河段水域的轮虫和理化环境指标进行了调查分析,共发现轮虫26属、76种,其中裂痕龟纹轮虫(Anuraeopsis fissa)在7月河流水体占绝对优势,但12月数量明显减少.冬季珠江河段和河口水体群落多样性指数与均匀度指数较夏季高,群落结构较夏季稳定.调查水体轮虫丰度范围为33~2625 ind./L,城市湖泊夏季丰度较高,冬季有所下降,而养殖池塘轮虫丰度在冬季有所上升.群落结构相似性分析(ANOSIM)分析表明,不同类型水体之间差异显著,尤以湖泊与河流差异性最大,广布多肢轮虫(Polyarthra vulgaris)在湖泊贡献率最高,暗小异尾轮虫(Trichocerca pusilla)其次;裂痕龟纹轮虫在河流贡献率最高,优势种丰度差异是造成湖泊与河流群落结构差异的主要原因.统计分析表明,轮虫丰度与叶绿素a浓度呈正相关.冗余分析与ANOSIM分析发现广布多肢轮虫在流花湖等叶绿素a浓度较高的静态水体中易形成优势;裂痕龟纹轮虫和角突臂尾轮虫(Brachionus angularis)在珠江河段等总氮和总磷浓度高的富营养化流动水体中易形成优势.综合轮虫群落结构和水质特征,广州市水体富营养化严重,耐污性轮虫种类多,应加强城市水生态系统保护和管理.     

近地层参数化对海南岛海风降水模拟的影响

利用WRF模式探讨了两种近地层参数化方案(MM5方案和Eta方案)对2013年5月31日海南岛一次海风降水过程模拟的影响.结果表明,改变近地层方案可对当地的海风环流及相应的降水特征产生明显影响,两个试验最重要的差别主要体现在模拟的海风及降水的强度差异上,与MM5试验相比,Eta试验的低层海风及辐合程度更强,相应的降水也更强,表现为岛屿总格点降水量、大于10mm的降水区域、最大格点降水三个量化指标均比较大.通过分析两种方案在不同降水阶段的地表通量及近地层变量场,发现Eta试验模拟的降水前环境场更有利于对流的启动,随着午后热力湍流的不断增强,将MM5方案替换为Eta方案可使近地层感热通量、潜热通量分别增加约3.57%、5.65%,动量通量减小约10.79%,感热、潜热的增加使Eta试验中近地层大气的加热加湿作用更加明显,相应的低层大气不稳定度更高,再配合海风锋前较强的辐合上升运动,局地不稳定能量的释放变的更加容易,因此降水强度更大.     

CAMS云微物理方案的改进及与WRF模式耦合的个例研究

本文在中国气象科学研究院(CAMS)双参数云微物理方案的基础上,增加气溶胶粒子的活化过程,改进原方案中的水汽混合比、云水混合比及云滴数浓度的预报方程,实现对各种水成物(包括云水)的混合比和数浓度的预报.此外,改进后的CAMS云方案被成功耦合到了WRF v3.1中尺度模式.本文利用耦合模式对2009年4月23~24日发生在我国北方地区的一次降水天气过程进行了模拟,将新方案的模拟结果与WRF自带的3个微物理方案进行了比较.结果显示,新方案能够合理地描述地面降水特征,其模拟的雨带分布范围与实测接近,降水中心的强度和位置优于其他3个方案.新方案模拟的云滴数浓度与WDM6方案基本一致,表明加入的气溶胶活化过程是合理的.新方案模拟的其他水成物粒子数浓度与Morrison方案相比有时会有量级的差别,说明粒子数浓度的模拟目前还存在着很大的不确定性,这也是云微物理模式进一步发展的难点.     

北京夏季晴天边界层特征及城市下垫面对海风影响的数值模拟

对耦合了Noah陆面模式和单层城市冠层模式的WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting)模式系统进行了改进和优化,通过对2010年8月6－7日北京地区晴天个例的模拟试验,检验了优化前后模式系统的模拟能力,分析研究了该个例中城市边界层的特征及日变化.另外,使用优化后的模拟系统通过两组敏感性试验研究了京津城市下垫面对海风的影响.结果表明,优化方案能够显著提高模式系统对该个例的模拟性能,模式系统基本能够模拟出北京夏季边界层的日变化特征,精确的地表使用类型分类等地理信息数据对提高模式预报的准确度有着至关重要的作用,京津城市对海风的发展和推进过程有明显影响,能够阻碍海风的推进、加强风场的水平辐合和垂直上升气流,北京城市下垫面还能在海风到达前增加其强度和推进速度,并在海风经过后延缓其消亡、增加其推进距离.     

Comparing quantitative precipitation forecast methods for prediction of sewer flows in a small urban area

Abstract

Due to the relatively small spatial scale, as well as rapid response, of urban drainage systems, the use of quantitative rainfall forecasts for providing quantitative flow and depth predictions is a challenging task. Such predictions are important when consideration is given to urban pluvial flooding and receiving water quality, and it is worthwhile to investigate the potential for improved forecasting. In this study, three quantitative precipitation forecast methods of increasing complexity were compared and used to create quantitative forecasts of sewer flows 0–3 h ahead in the centre of a small town in the north of England. The HyRaTrac radar nowcast model was employed, as well as two different versions of the more complex STEPS model. The STEPS model was used as a deterministic nowcasting system, and was also blended with the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model MM5 to investigate the potential of increasing forecast lead-times (LTs) using high-resolution NWP. Predictive LTs between 15 and 90 min gave acceptable results, but were a function of the event type. It was concluded that higher resolution rainfall estimation as well as nowcasts are needed for prediction of both local pluvial flooding and combined sewer overflow spill events.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Guest editor R.J. Moore