Role of Electrical Effects in Intensifying Rainfall Rates in the Tropics
Dipjyoti Mudiar, Anupam Hazra, S. D. Pawar, Rama Krishna Karumuri, Mahen Konwar, Subrata Mukherjee, Manoj Srivastava, B. N. Goswami, Earle Williams
Abstract
Abstract In the backdrop of a significant improvement in weather prediction with Numerical Weather Prediction models, quantitative prediction of the intensity of heavy rainfall events and associated disasters has remained a challenge. Encouraged by the recent emergence of compelling observational evidence for a significant electrical influence on cloud/rain microphysical processes (Mudiar, Pawar, Gopalakrishnana et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl093577 ), here we propose a hypothesis that the modification of the raindrop size distribution (RDSD) towards larger drop sizes facilitated by cloud electric fields could be one factor responsible for realistic rainfall intensity in weather/climate models. The robustness of the proposed hypothesis is confirmed through a series of simulations of strongly electrified rain events with the Weather Research and Forecasting model incorporating the electrically modified RDSD parameters in the model physics. Our results indicate a possible roadmap for improving hazard prediction associated with extreme rainfall events in weather prediction models.