A Case Study of a Heavy Rain over the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

This research systematically studied heavy rain that occurred on 5 August 2014 over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (31 • N-35 • N, 96 • E-103 • E) using orbital data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR), the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) products, and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Re-Analysis Interim reanalysis data (ERA-Interim). The data studied included spatial and temporal distributions of the precipitation; horizontal distributions and vertical structures of the precipitation system; convective storm top altitudes and types of rain; mean rainfall profiles; the influence of water vapor content before and after the rainfall; and the atmospheric circulation background. The results suggest that most precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau occurs in the southeast, and that the maximum near-surface precipitation rate for this event was more than 100 mm·h −1 . The convection was so powerful that the convective storm top altitude surpassed 16 km. Furthermore, the water vapor content caused obvious changes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) area. The mean rainfall profile can be roughly divided into four layers and showed that the maximum rainfall rate appeared at about 5.5 km. Deep weak precipitation provided the largest contribution to the total precipitation, while the highest average precipitation rate was from deep strong convective precipitation. The atmospheric circulation situation is conducive to the formation of strong convective weather, and the terrain is also an external factor affecting precipitation for this event.

Analysis of Precipitation Extremes in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China: Spatio-Temporal Characteristics and Topography Effects

“…However, some investigations on extreme precipitation only involved partial areas of the QTP [26][27][28][29], and precipitation extremes for the entire QTP separated from China have not been previously investigated in detail. Moreover, many studies have confirmed the impact of complex topography over the QTP on spatiotemporal variations of precipitation [30][31][32]; nevertheless, whether and what kind of topographical influence exists in relation to changes of extreme precipitation still needs further study. Zhang et al reported there was a negative correlation between precipitation extremes and elevation in the Hengduan Mountains region [29].…”

Temporal Distribution Characteristics of Alpine Precipitation and Their Vertical Differentiation: A Case Study from the Upper Shule River

“…After sunset, the air temperature drops abruptly, the convective activity rapidly weakens and precipitation sharply decreases. The vertical differences are likely to be derived from the diversity of the precipitation mechanism in mountainous areas, which makes the influence of convective precipitation in different altitude zones inconsistent [39]. At high elevations, the mountain peaks rising one after another can block water vapor, and the hydrothermal conditions including the diurnal temperature range, actual evapotranspiration, etc.…”

Precipitation Atlas for Germany (GePrA)

“…On spatial scales, precipitation patterns are influenced by the orography [6][7][8][9][10] and land cover [11,12]. On temporal scales, precipitation patterns are driven by different temporal cycles of the large-scale atmospheric circulation [13] and diurnal warming [14].…”