Cloud structure and evolution of Mesoscale Convective Systems （MCSs） retrieved from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager （TRMM TMI） and Precipitation Radar （PR） were investigated and compared with some pioneer studies based on soundings and models over the northern South China Sea （SCS）. The impacts of Convective Available Potential Energy （CAPE） and environmental vertical wind shear on MCSs were also explored. The main features of MCSs over the SCS were captured well by both TRMM PR and TMI. However, the PR-retrieved surface rainfall in May was less than that in June, and the reverse for TMI. TRMM-retrieved rainfall amounts were generally consistent with those estimated from sounding and models. However, rainfall amounts from sounding-based and PR-based estimates were relatively higher than those retrieved from TRMM-TMI data. The Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） modeling simulation underestimated the maximum rain rate by 22% compared to that derived from TRMM-PR, and underestimated mean rainfall by 10.4% compared to the TRMM-TMI estimate, and by 12.5% compared to the sounding-based estimate. The warm microphysical processes modeled from both the WRF and the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble （GCE） models were quite close to those based on TMI, but the ice water contents in the models were relatively less compared to that derived from TMI. The CAPE and wind shear induced by the monsoon circulation were found to play critical roles in maintaining and developing the intense convective clouds over SCS. The latent heating rate increased more than twofold during the monsoon period and provided favorable conditions for the upward transportation of energy from the ocean, giving rise to the possibility of inducing large-scale interactions.
The cumulus merging processes in generating the mesoscale convective system （MCS） on 23 August 2001 in the Beijing region are studied by using a cloud-resolving mesoscale model of MM5. The results suggest that the merger processes occurred among isolated convective cells formed in high mountain region during southerly moving process play critical role in forming MCS and severe precipitating weather events such as hailfall, heavy rain, downburst and high-frequency lightning in the region. The formation of the MCS experiences multi-scale merging processes from single-cell scale merging to cloud cluster-scale merging, and high core merging. The merger process can apparently alter cloud dynamical and microphysical properties through enhancing both low- and middle-level forcing. Also, lightning flash rates are enhanced by the production of more intense and deeper convective cells by the merger process, especially by which, the more graupel-like ice particles are formed in clouds. The explosive convective development and the late peak lightning flash rate can be found during merging process.
A thunderstorm that produced severe wind, heavy rain and hail on 23 August 2001 in Beijing was studied by a three-dimensional cloud model including hail-bin microphysics. This model can provide important information for hail size at the surface, which is not available in hail parameterization cloud models. The results shows that the cloud model, using hail-bin microphysics, could reasonably reflect the storm＇s characteristics such as life cycle, rainfall distribution and the diameter of the hailstones and also can reproduce developing processes of downbursts, where they can then be compared with the observed features of the storm. The downburst formation mechanism was investigated based on the cloud microphysics of the simulated storm and it was found that the downburst was primarily produced by hail-loading and enhanced by cooling processes that were due to hail melting and rain evaporation. The loading and melting of hail played crucial roles in the formation of downbursts within the storm.
