Abstract
The mesoscale orographic effects on typhoon Aere’s precipitation are simulated using an Advanced Regional Eta-coordinate Model (AREM) version 3.0. In particular, the effects of the latent heat release are studied by two comparable experiments: with and without condensational heating. The results show that the typhoon rainfall is tripled by the southeastern China mesoscale terrain, and the condensational heating is responsible for at least half of the increase. One role of the latent heat release is to warm the atmosphere, leading to a depression of the surface pressure, which then causes a larger pressure difference in the zonal direction. This pressure gradient guides the water vapour to flow into the foothills, which in turn amplifies the water vapour flux divergence amplified, causing the typhoon rainfall to increase eventually. The other role of the latent heat release is to make the convection more organized, resulting in a relatively smaller rain area and stronger precipitation.
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Li, Y., Huang, W. & Zhao, J. Roles of mesoscale terrain and latent heat release in typhoon precipitation: A numerical case study. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 24, 35–43 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-007-0035-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-007-0035-8