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Ground-based radar reflectivity mosaic of mei-yu precipitation systems over the Yangtze River–Huaihe River basins

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Abstract

The 3D radar reflectivity produced by a mosaic software system, with measurements from 29 operational weather radars in the Yangtze River–Huaihe River Basins (YRHRB) during the mei-yu season of 2007, is compared to coincident TRMM PR observations in order to evaluate the value of the ground-based radar reflectivity mosaic in characterizing the 3D structures of mei-yu precipitation. Results show reasonable agreement in the composite radar reflectivity between the two datasets, with a correlation coefficient of 0.8 and a mean bias of -1 dB. The radar mosaic data at constant altitudes are reasonably consistent with the TRMM PR observations in the height range of 2–5 km, revealing essentially the same spatial distribution of radar echo and nearly identical histograms of reflectivity. However, at altitudes above 5 km, the mosaic data overestimate reflectivity and have slower decreasing rates with height compared to the TRMM PR observations. The areas of convective and stratiform precipitation, based on the mosaic reflectivity distribution at 3-km altitude, are highly correlated with the corresponding regions in the TRMM products, with correlation coefficients of 0.92 and 0.97 and mean relative differences of -7.9% and -2.5%, respectively. Finally, the usefulness of the mosaic reflectivity at 3-km altitude at 6-min intervals is illustrated using a mesoscale convective system that occurred over the YRHRB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yali Luo, Hongyan Wang & Da-Lin Zhang

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Yali Luo

  3. Shijiazhuang Meteorological Bureau, Shijiazhuang, 050081, China

    Weimiao Qian

  4. National Meteorological Center of China, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yu Gong

  5. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Collage Park, Maryland, 20742, USA

    Da-Lin Zhang

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  1. Yali Luo
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  2. Weimiao Qian
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  3. Yu Gong
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  4. Hongyan Wang
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Correspondence to Yali Luo.

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Luo, Y., Qian, W., Gong, Y. et al. Ground-based radar reflectivity mosaic of mei-yu precipitation systems over the Yangtze River–Huaihe River basins. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 33, 1285–1296 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-016-6022-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-016-6022-1

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