Convective and Microphysical Characteristics of Extreme Precipitation Revealed by Multisource Observations Over the Pearl River Delta at Monsoon Coast
S. Yu, Yali Luo, Chong Wu, Dong Zheng, Xiantong Liu, Weixin Xu
Abstract
Abstract Extreme precipitation is an issue of worldwide concern, but its microphysics remain elusive. The convective and microphysical characteristics of extreme precipitation features (EPFs) in a monsoon coastal area (South China) are investigated mainly using 2‐year observations from a dual‐polarization radar and distrometers. The EPFs are accompanied by a broad range of convective intensity, and categorized into the “intense”, “moderate”, and “weak” convection accounting for 17.3%, 48.6% and 34.1% of the total population, respectively. The EPFs with weaker convection show weakened size sorting and less breakup of large raindrops, but a larger ratio of liquid water path to ice water path and more prominent coalescence warm‐rain process. All the three categories are dominated by the coalescence in the liquid‐phase processes, and have much more populous raindrops than the “continental” with a mean size larger than the “maritime” regime. These results improve our understanding of extreme precipitation from the microphysical perspective.