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Radar observed convective storm characteristics at the eastern edge of the Indian summer monsoon trough

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Abstract

The Indian summer monsoon trough (MT) is a dynamically active region of the quasi-stationary feature extending from north-western India towards the Bay of Bengal (BoB). The eastern rim of the MT (EMT) is modulated by the embedded synoptic-scale monsoon low-pressure systems (LPSs) in north BoB. We examine the spatiotemporal variability of the convective storm (CS) in the EMT region, which lies along the pathway of LPSs. A Lagrangian-based objective-tracking method, Thunderstorm Identification, Tracking, Analysis, and Nowcasting (TITAN), was injected into Kolkata S-band radar observations of nine wet seasons (June–September, 2009–2017). CSs frequently occur near the onshore areas and is linked to the formation and propagation of LPSs in the BoB. By examining the relationship of CS top heights with reflectivity lapse rate and fractional volume of 40 dBZ or more, three vertical categories of CS have been identified as shallow (SCS) below 5 km, medium depth (MDCS), and deep CS (DCS). The land–ocean contrast in the spatial distribution of MDCS and DCS and the contoured frequency by altitude diagram shows continental convective vigor. Although short-lived smaller CSs account for most storms in EMT, the bulk of the precipitation (75\(\%\)) contributed from the infrequent largest storms. A weak (strong) linkage between the precipitation flux and CS top (area-time integral) gives a clue on the importance of CS voluminous organization rather than the linkage of heaviest rainfall to tallest CS. While most CSs propagate inland following the mass-weighted mean winds, the largest CS propagate offshore steered by the mid-level wind at 700 hPa.

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Data availibility

The radar data that support the findings of this study are available from India Meteorological Department (IMD) but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under licence for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the corresponding author (subrata@tropmet.res.in) upon reasonable request and with permission of IMD. ERA5 datasets were downloaded from https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/reanalysis-era5-pressure-levels.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Director, IITM, for his encouragement and support. We thank the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for providing the radar dataset. We also thank the National Center for Atmospheric Research for providing the TITAN storm analysis software. The authors would like to acknowledge the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to provide the ERA5 dataset. One of the authors, AKJ, is thankful to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India for providing the fellowship and facility during the study. The authors are thankful to the Editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive remarks and suggestions that improved the paper considerably.

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  1. Abhishek Kumar Jha

    Present address: Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research, Mumbai, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune, Maharashtra, 411008, India

    Abhishek Kumar Jha, Subrata Kumar Das, Sachin M. Deshpande & U. V. Murali Krishna

  2. Department of Atmospheric and Space Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India

    Abhishek Kumar Jha

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Contributions

Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis and investigation, writing—original draft preparation: A.K.J. and S.K.D.; writing—review and editing: all coauthors.

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Correspondence to Subrata Kumar Das.

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Jha, A.K., Das, S.K., Deshpande, S.M. et al. Radar observed convective storm characteristics at the eastern edge of the Indian summer monsoon trough. Clim Dyn 61, 3633–3652 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-023-06759-x

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