The Contribution of Mesoscale Convective Weather Systems to the Warm-Season Precipitation in the United States

Fritsch, J. Michael; Kane, Richard J.; Chelius, C. R.

doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1986)025<1333:tcomcw>2.0.co;2

Cited by 328 publications

(260 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Various observational and modeling studies (e.g. Fritsch et al 1986;Rodgers et al 1994;Evans 1998) indicate that the rainfall signature of a convective system is modulated by its degree of organization. Thus, the relative frequency of each system type and their (spatial and temporal) distribution may have important implications for the regional hydrologic cycle.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Satellite‐based monitoring of intraseasonal variations in tropical Pacific and Atlantic convection

Evans¹,

Jaskiewicz²

2001

Geophysical Research Letters

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Satellite‐based monitoring of intraseasonal variations in tropical Pacific and Atlantic convection

Evans¹,

Jaskiewicz²

2001

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…After quality control, a selection criterion (combined size and duration) was defined to keep only those systems ranging within a predefined scale. The final criterion combines aspects of the Fritsch et al (1986) and Augustine et al (1988) criteria. The MCSs that meet the following two conditions during its life cycle are kept as selected MCSs and form the dataset: (a) the size of the -52°C area must be greater than 10000 km 2 and (b) this size must be maintained for at least three hours.…”

Section: Figure 2 Territorial Units As Used In the Heavy Rain Databamentioning

confidence: 99%

Western Mediterranean cyclones and heavy rain. Part 2: Statistical approach

Jansà

Genovés

Picornell

et al. 2001

Meteorological Applications

139

123

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This is the second part (statistical approach) of a work concerning the relationship between heavy rain and cyclonic centres in the western Mediterranean. Using a statistical approach we seek to verify the indirect role of the cyclone centres in locating, triggering or focusing heavy rain: a cyclonic centre –even if neither strong nor deep –may contribute to the low‐level flow organisation and so to the creation or intensification of a low‐level warm and wet current that can feed and sustain convective rain in favourable environmental conditions. The foundation for the statistical approach is several Several databases maintained and updated by the Spanish Institute of Meteorology (INM). These databases of cyclonic centres, heavy rain and strong wind events, and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), all covering the western Mediterranean or part thereof, can be cross‐referenced by looking for simultaneity between heavy rain events (or MCSs) and cyclone centres in the vicinity. We have found that in most of the heavy rain events (around 90%) there is a cyclonic centre in the vicinity, usually located so that its presence favours the creation or intensification of a feeding flow of Mediterranean air towards the area affected by heavy rain. The same occurs with the MCSs. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society

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“…The [Stensrud, 1996] and mesoscale convective complexes [Maddox, 1980;Fritsch et al, 1986] for the periods simulated and thus conservatively assumed that differences between model output and observed behavior represent simulation errors due to factors such as construction and ingestion of boundary conditions and internal shortcomings in the models. This assumption is most reasonable for large-scale mass, temperature, and momentum fields and less so for humidity [Trenberth and Guillemot, 1995].…”

Section: Domain and Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Project to Intercompare Regional Climate Simulations (PIRCS): Description and initial results

Takle¹,

Gutowski²,

Arritt³

et al. 1999

J. Geophys. Res.

183

109

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Abstract. The first simulation experiment and output archives of the Project to Intercompare Regional Climate Simulations (PIRCS) is described. Initial results from simulations of the summer 1988 drought over the central United States indicate that limited-area models forced by large-scale information at the lateral boundaries reproduce bulk temporal and spatial characteristics of meteorological fields. In particular, the 500 hPa height field time average and temporal variability are generally well simulated by all participating models. Model simulations of precipitation episodes vary depending on the scale of the dynamical forcing. Organized synoptic-scale precipitation systems are simulated deterministically in that precipitation occurs at close to the same time and location as observed (although amounts may vary from observations). Episodes of mesoscale and convective precipitation are represented in a more stochastic sense, with less precise agreement in temporal and spatial patterns. Simulated surface energy fluxes show broad similarity with the First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) Field Experiment (FIFE) observations in their temporal evolution and time average diurnal cycle. Intermodel differences in midday Bowen ratio tend to be closely associated with precipitation differences. Differences in daily maximum temperatures also are linked to Bowen ratio differences, indicating strong local, surface influence on this field. Although some models have bias with respect to FIFE observations, all tend to reproduce the synoptic variability of observed daily maximum and minimum temperatures. Results also reveal the advantage of an intercomparison in exposing common tendencies of models despite their differences in convective and surface parameterizations and different methods of assimilating lateral boundary conditions.

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The Contribution of Mesoscale Convective Weather Systems to the Warm-Season Precipitation in the United States

Cited by 328 publications

References 16 publications

Satellite‐based monitoring of intraseasonal variations in tropical Pacific and Atlantic convection

Satellite‐based monitoring of intraseasonal variations in tropical Pacific and Atlantic convection

Western Mediterranean cyclones and heavy rain. Part 2: Statistical approach

Project to Intercompare Regional Climate Simulations (PIRCS): Description and initial results

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