Impacts of Including Rain-Evaporative Cooling in the Initial Conditions on the Prediction of a Coastal Heavy Rainfall Event during TiMREX

Chuan-Chi Tu Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

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Yi-Leng Chen Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

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Shu-Ya Chen University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, and GPS Science and Application Research Center, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan

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Ying-Hwa Kuo University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

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Pay-Liam Lin Department of Atmospheric Sciences, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan

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Abstract

A cycling run, which began 36 h before the model forecast, was employed to assimilate special Terrain-influenced Monsoon Rainfall Experiment (TiMREX) soundings, Global Telecommunications System (GTS) data, and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) global positioning system (GPS) radio occultation (RO) refractivity profiles to improve the model initial conditions provided by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) to study a coastal, heavy rainfall event over southwestern Taiwan during 15–16 June 2008. The 36-h cycling run with data assimilation (DA_ALL_DATA run) has a positive impact on the depiction of subsynoptic flow in the model initial conditions at 1200 UTC 15 June, including the warm moist tongue and southwesterly monsoon flow over the open ocean. Furthermore, the cold pool caused by the evaporative cooling of antecedent rains and orographic blocking over southwestern Taiwan are better resolved in the nested high-resolution domain in the DA_ALL_DATA run as compared to the initial conditions provided by the NCEP GFS. As a result, the heavy rainfall along the southwestern coast and afternoon localized heavy rainfall over northern Taiwan are better predicted in the DA_ALL_DATA run.

Model sensitivity tests are also performed to diagnose the effects of terrain and rain-evaporative cooling on the intensity and depth of the cold pool and degree of orographic blocking on the southwesterly flow over southwestern Taiwan. It is apparent that including rain-evaporative cooling from antecedent rains and orographic effects in the model initial conditions are important to account for the predicted rainfall distribution of this coastal rainfall event.

Denotes Open Access content.

School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology Contribution Number 9744.

Current affiliation: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Yi-Leng Chen, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, SOEST, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822. E-mail: yileng@hawaii.edu

Abstract

A cycling run, which began 36 h before the model forecast, was employed to assimilate special Terrain-influenced Monsoon Rainfall Experiment (TiMREX) soundings, Global Telecommunications System (GTS) data, and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) global positioning system (GPS) radio occultation (RO) refractivity profiles to improve the model initial conditions provided by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) to study a coastal, heavy rainfall event over southwestern Taiwan during 15–16 June 2008. The 36-h cycling run with data assimilation (DA_ALL_DATA run) has a positive impact on the depiction of subsynoptic flow in the model initial conditions at 1200 UTC 15 June, including the warm moist tongue and southwesterly monsoon flow over the open ocean. Furthermore, the cold pool caused by the evaporative cooling of antecedent rains and orographic blocking over southwestern Taiwan are better resolved in the nested high-resolution domain in the DA_ALL_DATA run as compared to the initial conditions provided by the NCEP GFS. As a result, the heavy rainfall along the southwestern coast and afternoon localized heavy rainfall over northern Taiwan are better predicted in the DA_ALL_DATA run.

Model sensitivity tests are also performed to diagnose the effects of terrain and rain-evaporative cooling on the intensity and depth of the cold pool and degree of orographic blocking on the southwesterly flow over southwestern Taiwan. It is apparent that including rain-evaporative cooling from antecedent rains and orographic effects in the model initial conditions are important to account for the predicted rainfall distribution of this coastal rainfall event.

Denotes Open Access content.

School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology Contribution Number 9744.

Current affiliation: Department of Atmospheric Sciences, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Yi-Leng Chen, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, SOEST, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822. E-mail: yileng@hawaii.edu
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