Linkages Between Tropical Cyclones and Extreme Precipitation over China and the Role of ENSO

Licheng Wang; Zhengnan Yang; Xihui Gu; Jianfeng Li

doi:10.1007/s13753-020-00285-8

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Disaster Risk Science > 2020 > 11(4): 538-553

Licheng Wang, Zhengnan Yang, Xihui Gu, Jianfeng Li. Linkages Between Tropical Cyclones and Extreme Precipitation over China and the Role of ENSO[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2020, 11(4): 538-553. doi: 10.1007/s13753-020-00285-8

Citation:

Licheng Wang, Zhengnan Yang, Xihui Gu, Jianfeng Li. Linkages Between Tropical Cyclones and Extreme Precipitation over China and the Role of ENSO[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2020, 11(4): 538-553. doi: 10.1007/s13753-020-00285-8

Citation:

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Linkages Between Tropical Cyclones and Extreme Precipitation over China and the Role of ENSO

doi: 10.1007/s13753-020-00285-8

1 Department of Atmospheric Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China;
2 State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China;
3 Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China

Funds:

This work was financially supported by the Open Research Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Grant No. IWHR-SKL-201919), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFA0605603), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41901041 and U1911205), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (Grant No. 2020G12).

Available Online: 2021-04-26

Abstract

Abstract

This research investigated the linkages between tropical cyclones (TCs) and extreme precipitation, and their associations with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over China. The contribution of TC-induced to total extreme precipitation events along the southeast coast of China was higher than 50%, and the values gradually decreased as TCs moved inland. However, the precipitation extremes (magnitude and frequency) related to TCs did not show statistically significant changes over the most recent 57 years. The impacts of TCs on precipitation extremes are evidently modulated by the ENSO phases. We found less extreme precipitation linked with TCs in southeastern China during El Niño phase, because of the fewer TC tracks over this region and less TC genesis in the western North Pacific (WNP). The small TC track density over southeastern China is due to the prevalent westerly steering flow and abnormal integrated vapor transport from northern to southern China during El Niño years. Additionally, warmer sea surface temperature, more vigorous westerlies, larger vorticity in 250 hPa, and higher divergence in 850 hPa in an El Niño phase jointly displaced the mean genesis of the WNP TCs eastward and this led to fewer TCs passing through southeastern China.
- China,
- ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation),
- Extreme precipitation,
- Large-scale environmental variables,
- Tropical cyclones

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References(61)

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