Changes in Tropical Cyclone–Induced Extreme Hourly Precipitation over China during 1975–2018

Abstract

Abstract This study analyzes the spatiotemporal distributions and climate trends of tropical cyclone (TC)-induced extreme hourly precipitation (EXHP) in the warm season (May–September) during 1975–2018 over China and the involved mechanisms. Each TC is classified as a high-, mid-, and low-EXHP TC according to the total amount of EXHP it produces over China during its lifetime. Results show that low-EXHP TCs have a greater contribution to the total TC-induced EXHP over southern and southwestern China, whereas high-EXHP TCs make greater contributions over eastern and northeastern China as they tend to move northwestward after making landfall. It is shown that, although the total frequency of EXHP-producing TCs displays a decreasing trend, the total frequency of TC-induced EXHP over China shows a significant increasing trend, which is largely contributed by the high-EXHP TCs. To explore the possible mechanisms responsible for the different characteristics in EXHP-producing TC groups, we further analyze the large-scale environmental conditions with respect to three groups by composite analysis. The cooperation of large-scale environmental fields between high and low levels provides favorable conditions for the intensification of TCs and the enhancement of the TC-induced precipitation for the high-EXHP group, such as stronger divergence at high levels, weaker vertical wind shear, more sufficient water vapor, and more conducive steering airflow over the southeastern and eastern area of mainland China. The westward and northward movement of western North Pacific subtropical high is conducive to the northward shift of TC tracks, thus contributing to the high frequency of TC-induced EXHP over the eastern area of mainland China.