| Abstract: | In this study, a three-dimensional mesoscale model was used to numerically simulate the well-known "98.7" heavy rainfall event that affected the Yangtze Valley in July 1998. Two experiments were conducted to analyze the impact of moist processes on the development of meso-β scale vortices (MβV) and their triggering by mesoscale wind perturbation (MWP). In the experiment in which the latent heat feedback (LHF) scheme was switched off, a stable low-level col field (i.e., saddle field——a region between two lows and two highs in the isobaric surface) formed, and the MWP triggered a weak MβV. However, when the LHF scheme was switched on as the MWP was introduced into the model, the MβV developed quickly and intense rainfall and a mesoscale low-level jet (mLLJ) were generated. The thickness of the air column and average temperature between 400 and 700 hPa decreased without the feedback of latent heat, whereas they increased quickly when the LHF scheme was switched on, with the air pressure falling at low levels but rising at upper levels. A schematic representation of the positive feedbacks among the mesoscale vortex, rainfall, and mLLJ shows that in the initial stage of the MβV, the MWP triggers light rainfall and the latent heat occurs at low levels, which leads to weak convergence and ageostrophic winds. In the mature stage of the MβV, convection extends to the middle-to-upper levels, resulting in an increase in the average temperature and a stretching of the air column. A low-level cyclonic circulation forms under the effect of Coriolis torque, and the mLLJ forms to the southeast of the MβV. |
