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Characteristics of Raindrop Size Distribution in Seoul, South Korea According to Rain and Weather Types

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Abstract

The raindrop size distribution (RSD) is useful in understanding various precipitation-related processes. Here, we analyze disdrometer data collected in Seoul, South Korea from May 2018 to July 2019 to characterize the RSD according to rain and weather types. Rain types are categorized into stratiform, mixed, and convective rain, and weather types into the Changma front (type CF) and low-pressure system (type L). The slope parameter Λ decreases and the intercept parameter N0 fluctuates with rain rate. Among the rain types, the RSD of stratiform (convective) rain shows the steepest (mildest) slope and the smallest (largest) mean diameter. The logarithm of generalized intercept parameter log10Nw and Λ for stratiform rain have considerably dispersed distributions, which may be attributed to the diversity within the stratiform rain type in Seoul. Mixed-type rain has a larger mean value of log10Nw compared to stratiform and convective rain. Regarding the weather types, the RSD of type CF exhibits a milder slope, a larger mass-weighted mean diameter, and a larger radar reflectivity than type L. These differences between the weather types can be explained by the larger convective proportion in type CF (33%) compared to type L (9%). Possible causes for the differences between the RSD characteristics of the two weather types are examined using reanalysis and satellite data. Type CF has a larger convective available potential energy, a higher cloud top, and more active ice microphysical processes than type L, which can lead to different RSD characteristics.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewer for providing valuable comments. This work was supported by the Research Institute of Basic Sciences funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2019R1A6A1A10073437) and also supported by the Korea Meteorological Administration Research and Development Program under Grant KMI 2020-00710.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

    Minchae Jwa, Han-Gyul Jin, Joohyun Lee, Sungju Moon & Jong-Jin Baik

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  1. Minchae Jwa
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  2. Han-Gyul Jin
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  3. Joohyun Lee
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Correspondence to Jong-Jin Baik.

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Jwa, M., Jin, HG., Lee, J. et al. Characteristics of Raindrop Size Distribution in Seoul, South Korea According to Rain and Weather Types. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 57, 605–617 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-020-00219-w

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