Intraseasonal variations of the Yangtze rainfall and its related atmospheric circulation features during the 1991 summer

The intraseasonal variations of the Yangtze rainfall over eastern China and its related atmospheric circulation characteristics during the 1991 summer are examined based on the gauge-observed rainfall and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Wavelet analysis shows that during the 1991 summer, the active and break sequences of rainfall over the middle and lower Yangtze Basin are mainly regulated by an oscillatory mode with a period of 15–35 days. An investigation of the circulation features suggests that the 15–35-day oscillation is associated with an anomalous low-level cyclone (anticyclone) appearing alternatively over the northern South China Sea (SCS) and the Philippine Sea, and related to a northeastward (southwestward) shift of the western Pacific subtropical anticyclone over the SCS, leading to a lower tropospheric divergence (convergence) over the Yangtze Basin. In the upper troposphere, the 15–35-day oscillation exhibits a dipole anomaly characterized by an anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) over eastern China and an anomalous anticyclone (cyclone) over the northern Tibetan Plateau, resulting in a southwestward shrinking (northeastward extending) of the South Asian anticyclone, and forming a convergence (divergence) over eastern China. Such a coupled anomalous flow pattern between the lower and upper troposphere favors large-scale descending (ascending) motion, and hence reduced (enhanced) rainfall over the Yangtze Basin. Dynamically, the intraseasonal variations in the Yangtze rainfall are mainly determined by the coupling between the low-level relative vorticity and the upper-level divergence. In the middle troposphere, the 15–35-day oscillation of the subtropical high is originated over the central North Pacific north of Hawaii, then propagates westward to the SCS-Philippine Sea, and finally modulates the intraseasonal variations of the Yangtze rainfall.