TY - JOUR
T1 - Precipitation Evolution from Plain to Mountains during the July 2023 Extreme Heavy Rainfall Event in North China
AU - Li, Mingxin
AU - Sun, Jisong
AU - Li, Feng
AU - Wu, Chong
AU - Xia, Rudi
AU - Bao, Xinghua
AU - Yin, Jinfang
AU - Liang, Xudong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Chinese Meteorological Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2024.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - North China experienced devastating rainfall from 29 July to 1 August 2023, which caused substantial flooding and damage. This study analyzed observations from surface rain gauges and S-band dual-polarization radars to reveal the following unique features of the precipitation evolution from the plain to the mountains during this event. (1) The total rainfall was found concentrated along the Taihang Mountains at elevations generally > 200 m, and its spatiotemporal evolution was closely associated with northward-moving low-level jets. (2) Storms propagated northwestward with southeasterly steering winds, producing continuous rainfall along the eastern slopes of the Taihang Mountains owing to mountain blocking, which resulted in the formation of local centers of precipitation maxima. However, most rainfall episodes with an extreme hourly rainfall rate (HRR), corresponding to large horizontal wind shear at low levels, actively occurred in the plain area to the east of the Taihang Mountains. (3) The western portion of the extreme heavy rain belt in the north was mainly caused by long-lasting cumulus–stratus mixed precipitation with HRR < 20 mm h−1; the eastern portion was dominated by short-duration convective precipitation with HRR > 20 mm h−1. The contributions of convective precipitation and cumulus–stratus mixed precipitation to the total rainfall of the southern and middle rain belts were broadly equivalent. (4) The local HRR maxima located at the transition zone from the plain to the mountains were induced by moderate storm-scale convective cells with active warm-rain processes and large number of small-sized rain droplets. (5) During the devastating rainfall event, it was observed that the rainfall peaked at around 1800 local time (LT) every day over the upstream plain area (no diurnal cycle of rainfall was observed in relation to the accumulated rainfall centers over mountain areas). This was attributable to convective activities along the storm propagation path, which was a result of the more unstable stratification with a suitable steering mechanism that was related to afternoon solar heating and enhanced water vapor. The findings of this study improve our understanding and knowledge of the extreme precipitation that can develop from the plain to the mountains in North China.
AB - North China experienced devastating rainfall from 29 July to 1 August 2023, which caused substantial flooding and damage. This study analyzed observations from surface rain gauges and S-band dual-polarization radars to reveal the following unique features of the precipitation evolution from the plain to the mountains during this event. (1) The total rainfall was found concentrated along the Taihang Mountains at elevations generally > 200 m, and its spatiotemporal evolution was closely associated with northward-moving low-level jets. (2) Storms propagated northwestward with southeasterly steering winds, producing continuous rainfall along the eastern slopes of the Taihang Mountains owing to mountain blocking, which resulted in the formation of local centers of precipitation maxima. However, most rainfall episodes with an extreme hourly rainfall rate (HRR), corresponding to large horizontal wind shear at low levels, actively occurred in the plain area to the east of the Taihang Mountains. (3) The western portion of the extreme heavy rain belt in the north was mainly caused by long-lasting cumulus–stratus mixed precipitation with HRR < 20 mm h−1; the eastern portion was dominated by short-duration convective precipitation with HRR > 20 mm h−1. The contributions of convective precipitation and cumulus–stratus mixed precipitation to the total rainfall of the southern and middle rain belts were broadly equivalent. (4) The local HRR maxima located at the transition zone from the plain to the mountains were induced by moderate storm-scale convective cells with active warm-rain processes and large number of small-sized rain droplets. (5) During the devastating rainfall event, it was observed that the rainfall peaked at around 1800 local time (LT) every day over the upstream plain area (no diurnal cycle of rainfall was observed in relation to the accumulated rainfall centers over mountain areas). This was attributable to convective activities along the storm propagation path, which was a result of the more unstable stratification with a suitable steering mechanism that was related to afternoon solar heating and enhanced water vapor. The findings of this study improve our understanding and knowledge of the extreme precipitation that can develop from the plain to the mountains in North China.
KW - convective precipitation
KW - diurnal variation
KW - extreme rainfall
KW - from plain to mountains
KW - hourly rainfall rate
KW - low-level jet
KW - stratiform precipitation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203292092&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13351-024-3182-2
DO - 10.1007/s13351-024-3182-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85203292092
SN - 2095-6037
VL - 38
SP - 635
EP - 651
JO - Journal of Meteorological Research
JF - Journal of Meteorological Research
IS - 4
ER -