Abstract
This study uses observational data from radar and radiosonde to investigate the thermodynamic conditions related to localized torrential rainfall (LTR) in the southwest region of the Korean peninsula. Three criteria were defined for selecting LTR events: 1) hourly rainfall exceeding 30 mm h−1 recorded at any of the automated synoptic observing systems (ASOS) around Gwangju, 2) an area of rainfall at > 1 mm h−1 (as estimated from radar rain rate) of less than 20,000 km2, and 3) clearly defined stages of genesis and dissipation in a group of rain cells (> 10 mm h−1) with a duration lasting less than 24 hours. As a result, 10 cases were selected from the summer season (June-August) over the last decade (2004-2013). Results showed all cases occurred during the afternoon hours and that the duration and maximum rain area of convective cells (> 30 mm h−1) was less than 6 hours and smaller than 700 km2, respectively. The majority of cases showed the following thermodynamic characteristics: 1) strong convective available potential energy (CAPE > 1,500 J kg−1) related to surface heating, 2) weak (or no) convective inhibition (CIN < 50 J kg−1), 3) adequate moisture and total precipitable water (TPW ≈ 55 mm), and 4) values of storm relative helicity (SRH) of less than 10 m2 s−2. The area of rainfall (700 km2) and the duration (6 h) in this experiment were relatively small and short, respectively, compared to those in a previous study in the middle-west region of Korea (1,000 km2, 9 h), but a higher CAPE (1,500 J kg−1) and lower SRH (10 m2 s−2) were involved in this study than in the former (800 J kg−1, 120 m2 s−2).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnolas, M., T. Rigo, and M. C. Llasat, 2010: Characteristics of 2-D convective structure in Catalonia (NE Spain): an analysis using radar data and GIS. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 129–139.
Bunkers, M. J., J. S. Johnson, L. J. Czepyha, J. M. Grzywacz, B. A. Klimowski, and M. R. Hjelmfelt, 2006: An observational examination of long-lived supercells. Part II: Environmental conditions and forecasting. Wea. Forecasting, 21, 689–714.
Byers, H. R., and R. R. Braham ffixJr., 1949: The thunderstorm. Washington, D. C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 287 pp.
Davies-Jones, R. P., D. Burgess, and M. Foster, 1990: Test of helicity as a tornado forcast parameter. Preprints, 16 th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Kananaskis Park, AB, Canada. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 588–592.
Djuric, D., 1994: Weather analysis. Prentice Hall, 304 pp.
Eblen, L. H., J. W. Ladd, and T. M. Hicks, 1990: Severe thunderstorm forecasting. NOAA Tech. memo. NWS SR-130. National Weather Service Forecast Office, 42 pp.
Fawbush, E. J., and R. C. Miller, 1954: The types of air masses in which North American tornadoes form. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 35, 154–165.
Fujiwara, M., 1965: Raindrop-size distribution from individual storms. J. Atmos. Sci., 22, 585–591.
Han, L., S. X. Fu, L. F. Zhao, Y. Z. Zheng, H. Q. Wang, and Y. J. Lin, 2009: 3D Convective storm identification, tracking, and forecasting-An enhanced TITAN algorithm. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 26, 719–732.
Hong, S.-Y., 2004: Comparison of heavy rainfall mechanisms in Korea and the Central US. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan., 5, 1469–1479.
Im, E.-S., S.-R. In, and S.-O. Han, 2013: Numerical simulation of the heavy rainfall caused by a convection band over Korea: a case study on the comparison of WRF and CReSS. Natural Hazards, 69, 1681–1695.
Johnson, J. T., P. L. Mackeen, A. Witt, E. D. Mitchell, G. Stumpf, M. D. Eilts, and K. W. Thomas, 1998: The storm cell identification and tracking algorithm: An enhanced WSR-88D algorithm. Wea. Forecasting, 13, 263–276.
Jung, S.-H., G. Lee, H.-W. Kim, and B. Kuk, 2011: Development of convective cell identification and tracking algorithm using 3-dimensional radar reflectivity fields. Atmosphere, 21, 243–256 (In Korean with English abstract).
Jung, S.-P., T.-Y. Kwon, and S.-O. Han, 2014: Thermodynamic characteristics associated with localized torrential rainfall events in the Middle West region of Korean peninsula. Atmosphere, 24, 457–470 (In Korean with English abstract).
Kim, Y.-C., and S.-J. Ham, 2009: Heavy rainfall prediction using convective instability index. J. Korean Soc. for Aviation and Aeronautics, 17, 17–23 (In Korean with English abstract).
Kirkpatrick, C., E. W. McCaul ffixJr., and C. Cohen, 2011: Sensitivity of simulated convective storms to environmental CAPE. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 3514–3532.
Kwon, T.-Y., J.-S. Kim, and B.-G. Kim, 2013: Comparison of the properties of Yeongdong and Yeongseo heavy rain. Atmosphere, 23, 245–264 (In Korean with English abstract).
Lee, S.-M., and H.-R. Byun, 2011: Distribution of convective energy at upper level in South Korea and the possibility if artificial showery rain caused by activated CAPE. Theor. Appl. Climatol., 105, 537–551.
Lee, T.-Y., and Y.-H. Kim, 2007: Heavy precipitation systems over the Korean peninsula and their classification. J. Korean Meteorol. Soc., 43, 367–396.
Marshall, J. S., and W. McK. Palmer, 1948: The distribution of raindrops with size. J. Meteor., 5, 165–166.
McCaul, E. W. ffixJr., and M. L. Weisman, 2001: The sensitivity of simulated supercell structure and intensity to variations in the shapes of environmental buoyancy and shear profiles. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 664–687.
Mecikalski, J. R., W. M. Mackenzie ffixJr., M. Koenig, and S. Muller, 2010: Cloud-top properties of growing cumulus prior to convective initiation as measured by meteosat second generation. Part I: Infrared fields. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 49, 521–534.
Meng, Z., D. Yan, and Y. Zhang, 2013: General feature of squall lines in east China. Mon. Wea. Rev., 141, 1629–1647.
National Emergency Management Agency, 2014: Annual disaster report for 2013. 680 pp (In Korean).
Park, C.-G., and T.-Y. Lee, 2008: Structure of mesoscale heavy precipitation systems originated from the changma front. Atmosphere, 18, 317–338 (In Korean with English abstract).
Rasmussen, E. N., and D. O. Blanchard, 1998: A baseline climatology of sounding-derived supercell and tornado forecasting parameters. Wea. Forecasting, 13, 1148–1164.
Suk, M.-K., K.-H. Chang, J.-W. Cha, and K.-E. Kim, 2013: Operational real-time adjustment of radar rainfall estimation over the South Korea region. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 91, 545–554.
Schultz, C. J. and M. A. Askelson, 2012: Vertical variations of boundary layer potential buoyancy in tornadic and nontornadic near-storm environments. Wea. Forecasting, 27, 1489–1506.
Schultz, D. M., and P. N. Schumacher, 1999: The use and misuse of conditional symmetric instability. Mon. Wea. Rev., 127, 2709–2732.
Steiner, M., R. A. Houze ffixJr., and S. E. Yuter, 1995: Climatological characterization of threedimensional storm structure from operational radar and rain gage data. J. Appl. Meteor., 34, 1978–2007.
Walker, J. R., W. M. Mackenzie ffixJr., J. R. Mecikalski, and C. P. Jewett, 2012: An enhanced geostationary satellite-based convective initiation algorithm for 0-2-h nowcasting with object tracking. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 51, 1931–1949.
Weckwerth, T. M., and D. B. Parsons, 2006: A review of convection initiation and motivation for IHOP_2002. Mon. Wea. Rev., 134, 5–22.
Weckwerth, T. M., J. W. Wilson, M. Hagen, T. J. Emerson, J. O. Pinto, D. L. Rife, and L. Grebe, 2011: Radar climatology of the COPS region. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 137, 31–41.
Weisman, M. L., and J. B. Klemp, 1982: The dependence of numerically simulated convective storms on vertical wind shear and buoyancy. Mon. Wea. Rev., 110, 504–520.
Woodley, W. L., A. R. Olsen, A. Herndon, and V. Wiger, 1975: Comparison of gage and radar methods of convective rain measurement. J. Appl. Meteor., 14, 909–928.
Zhang, J., S. Wang, and B. Clarke, 2004: WSR-88D reflectivity quality control using horizontal and vertical reflectivity structure. The 11th conference on aviation, range, and aerospace meteorology, Hyannis, MA., Amer. Meteor. Soc., P5.4. [Available online at http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/81858.pdf].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jung, SP., Kwon, TY., Han, SO. et al. Thermodynamic characteristics associated with localized torrential rainfall events in the southwest region of the Korean peninsula. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 51, 229–237 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-015-0073-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-015-0073-6