Abstract
The three-dimensional structures and ingredients leading to extremely heavy precipitation associated with the passage of Typhoon Morakot (2009) over the Central Mountain Range (CMR) of Taiwan are investigated. Using a numerical model, the track, track deflection, characteristic rainbands, and precipitation patterns and maxima are successfully reproduced after verification against observational data. The high-level outward flow of the secondary circulation around the eyewall is not very clear even during Morakot’s strongest stage. In the control case, the eyewall collapses within 5 h after landfall that is closely associated with limited precipitation along the track after landfall. During the early stage of landfall, the deep convection on the windward (west) side of the CMR helps strengthening the secondary circulation. A quantitative comparison of total precipitable water, translation speed, and orographic lifting among 12 typhoons in recent years causing large accumulated rainfall in Taiwan shows that the abundant water vapor around Taiwan outweighs translation speed and orographic lifting in resulting in the record-breaking precipitation. It is found that the major processes leading to strong upward motion in the extremely heavy precipitation during 0000 UTC 8 August–0000 UTC 9 August are initiated by orographic lifting by CMR.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bender MA, Tuleya RE, Kurihara Y (1987) A numerical study of the effect of island terrain on tropical cyclones. Mon Wea Rev 115:130–155. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1987)115<0130:ANSOTE>2.0.CO;2
Chan J, Gray W (1982) Tropical cyclone movement and surrounding flow relationships. Mon Wea Rev 110:1354–1374
Chen Y, Yau MK (2003) Asymmetric structures in a simulated landfalling hurricane. J Atmos Sci 60:2294–2312. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(2003)060<2294:ASIASL>2.0.CO;2
Chien F-C, Kuo H-C (2011) On the extreme rainfall of Typhoon Morakot (2009). J Geophys Res 116:D05104. doi:10.1029/2010JD015092
Cressman GP (1959) An operational objective analysis system. Mon Wea Rev 87:367–374
Doswell CA III, Brooks H, Maddox R (1996) Flash flood forecasting: an ingredient-based methodology. Wea Forecasting 11:560–581
Dudhia J (1989) Numerical study of convection observed during the winter monsoon experiment using a mesoscale two-dimensional model. J Atmos Sci 46:3077–3107
Ge X, Li T, Zhang S, Peng M (2010) What causes the extremely heavy rainfall in Taiwan during Typhoon Morakot (2009)? Atmos Sci Lett 11:46–50
Hong S-Y, Noh Y, Dudhia J (2006) A new vertical diffusion package with an explicit treatment of entrainment processes. Mon Wea Rev 134:2318–2341
Hong C–C, Lee M-Y, Hsu H–H, Kuo J-L (2010) Role of submonthly disturbance and 40–50 day ISO on the extreme rainfall event associated with Typhoon Morakot (2009) in Southern Taiwan. Geophys Res Lett 37:L08805. doi:10.1029/2010GL042761
Huang C-Y, Wong C-S, Yeh T-C (2011) Extreme rainfall processes exhibited by Typhoon Morakot (2009). Terr Atmos Ocean Sci 22:613–632
Jou BJ-D, Yu Y-C, Lei F, Chen Y-M, Lee C-S, Cheng M-D (2010) Synoptic environment and rainfall characteristics of Typhoon Morakot (0908). Atmos Sci 38:21–38 (in Chinese)
Kain JS (2004) The Kain–Fritsch convective parameterization: an update. J Appl Meteor 43:170–181
Kidder SQ, Jones AS (2007) A blended satellite total precipitable water product for operational forecasting. J Atmos Oceanic Technol 24:74–81
Lee W-C, Jou BJ-D, Chang P-L, Marks FD (2000) Tropical cyclone kinematic structure retrieved from single-Doppler radar observations. Part III: evolution and structures of Typhoon Alex (1987). Mon Wea Rev 128(12):3982–4001
Liang J, Wu L, Ge X, Wu C–C (2011) Monsoonal Influence on Typhoon Morakot (2009) Part II: numerical Study. J Atmos Sci 68:2222–2235
Lin Y-L (2007) Mesoscale Dynamics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Lin Y-L, Chiao S, Wang T-A, Kaplan ML (2001a) Some common ingredients for heavy orographic rainfall. Weather Forecast 16:633–660
Lin Y-L, Chiao S, Wang TA, Kaplan ML, Weglarz RP (2001b) Some common ingredients for heavy orographic rainfall. Weather Forcast 16:633–660
Lin C-Y, Hsu H-M, Sheng Y-F, Kuo C-H, Liou Y-A (2011) Mesoscale processes for super heavy rainfall of Typhoon Morakot (2009) over Southern Taiwan. Atmos Chem Phys 11:345–361. doi:10.5194/acp-11-345-2011
Mlawer EJ, Taubman SJ, Brown PD, Iacono MJ, Clough SA (1997) Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated-k model for the longwave. J Geophys Res 102:16,663–16682
Nguyen HV, Chen Y-L (2011) High resolution initialization and simulations of Typhoon Morakot (2009). Mon Wea Rev 139:1463–1491
Reisner J, Rasmussen RM, Bruintjes RT (1998) Explicit forecasting of supercooled liquid water in winter storms using the MM5 forecast model. Q J Roy Meteor Soc 124:1071–1107
Simpson RH (1974) The hurricane disaster-potential scale. Weatherwise 27:169–186
Skamarock WC, Klemp JB, Dudhia J, Gill DO, Barker DM, Duda M, Huang X-Y, Wang W, Powers JG (2008) A Description of the Advanced Research WRF Version 3. NCAR Technical Note, NCAR/TN-475 + STR
Smith RB (1979) The influence of mountains on the atmosphere. Adv Geophys 21:87–230
Tao W-K, Simpson J, McCumber M (1989) An ice-water saturation adjustment. Mon Weather Rev 117:231–235
Thompson G, Rasmussen RM, Manning KW (2004) Explicit forecasts of winter precipitation using an improved bulk microphysics scheme. Part I: description and sensitivity analysis. Mon Weather Rev 132:519–542
Tuleya RE (1994) Tropical storm development and decay: sensitivity to surface boundary conditions. Mon Weather Rev 122:291–304. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<0291:TSDADS>2.0.CO;2
Wang TCC, Tang Y-S, Wei C-H, Lin P-L, Liou Y-C, Chang W-Y, Chou C-B, Ji B-T, Lin C-Y (2010) The precipitation characteristics of Typhoon Morakot (2009) from radar analyses. Atmos Sci 38:39–61 (in Chinese)
Wu C–C, Huang C-Y, Yang M-J, Chien F-C, Hong J-S, Yen T-H (2010) Typhoon Morakot (2009) and a special review on the current status and future challenge of tropical cyclone simulation (in Chinese). Atmos Sci 38:99–134
Wu L, Liang J, Wu C–C (2011) Monsoonal influence on Typhoon Morakot (2009) Part I: observational analysis. J Atmos Sci 68:2208–2221
Xu X, Lu C, Xu H, Chen L (2011) A possible process responsible for exceptional rainfall over Taiwan from Typhoon Morakot. Atmos Sci Leti 12:294–299
Yang M-J, Zhang D-L, Tang X-D, Zhang Y (2011) A modeling study of Typhoon Nari (2001) at landfall: 2. Structural changes and terrain-induced asymmetries. J Geophys Res 116:D09112. doi:10.1029/2010JD015445
Yen T-H, Wu C–C, Lien G-Y (2011) Rainfall simulations of Typhoon Morakot with controlled translation speed based on EnKF data assimilation. Terr Atmos Ocean 22:647–660. doi:10.3319/TAO.2011.07.05.01(TM
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Prof. C.-S. Chen for discussions, and acknowledge the reviewers for their very helpful comments. This research was supported by the NOAA Educational Partnership Program (EPP) under Cooperative Agreement No: NA06OAR4810187.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: M. Kaplan.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huang, YC., Lin, YL. A study on the structure and precipitation of Morakot (2009) induced by the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan. Meteorol Atmos Phys 123, 115–141 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-013-0290-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-013-0290-4