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In this paper, we introduce a novel strategy to robustly diagnose the onset and demise of the rainy season using daily observed rainfall over seven specific regions across Australia, as demarcated by the Natural Resource Management (NRM) agency of Australia. The methodology lies in developing an ensemble spread of the diagnosed onset and demise from randomly perturbing the observed daily time series of rainfall at synoptic scales to obtain a measure of the uncertainty of the diagnosis. Our results indicate that the spread of the ensemble in the diagnosis of the onset and demise dates of the rainy season is higher in the subtropical region than the tropical region. Secular change of earlier onset, later demise, longer length, and wetter season are also identified in many of these regions. The influence of the PDO at decadal scale, ENSO and Indian Ocean dipole at interannual scale, and MJO at intraseasonal scale also reveals significant influence on the evolution of the rainy season over these regions in Australia. Most important, the covariability of the onset date with the length of the season and seasonal rainfall anomaly of the season is highlighted as a valuable relationship that can be exploited for real-time monitoring and providing an outlook of the forthcoming rainy season, which could serve some of the NRM regions. Significance Statement: We document the rainfall variability during the rainy season over tropical, subtropical, and semiarid regions of Australia and relate them to modes of climate variability spanning from intraseasonal to secular time scales. The study highlights the varied influence of the modes of climate variability on various aspects of the evolution of the rainy season, such as its onset and demise dates and the seasonal rainfall anomaly over these Australian regions. The study uses 114 years of data and shows that the variations in the length of the rainy season and its seasonal rainfall anomaly are strongly dictated by variations of rainy-season onset date. This provides a quick seasonal outlook of the forthcoming rainy season by just monitoring the onset-date evolution in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed information on the spatial and temporal characteristics of precipitation intensity from the mountainous region of northwest Mexico has, until recently, been lacking. As part of the 2004 North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) enhanced observing period (EOP) surface rain gauge networks along with weather radar and orbiting satellites were employed to observe precipitation in a manner heretofore unprecedented for this semiarid region. The NAME Event Rain gauge Network (NERN), which has been in operation since 2002, contributed to this effort. Building on previous work, this paper presents analyses on the spatial and temporal characteristics of precipitation intensity as observed by NERN gauges. Analyses from the 2004 EOP are compared with the 2002–04 period and with long-term gauge observations. It was found that total precipitation from July to August of 2004 was similar in spatial extent and magnitude to the long-term average, though substantially wetter than 2003. Statistical analyses of precipitation intensity data from the NERN reveal that large precipitation events at hourly and daily time scales are restricted to coastal and low-elevation areas west of the Sierra Madre Occidental. At 10-min time scales, maximum intensity values equal to those at low elevations could be observed at higher elevations though they were comparatively infrequent. It is also shown that the inclusion of NERN observations in existing operational analyses helps to correct significant biases, which, on the seasonal time scale, are of similar magnitude as the interannual variability in precipitation in key headwater regions of northwest Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area–time integral (ATI) method has previously been successfully used to estimate the area-averaged rain-rate distribution and the rainfall volume over an area from radar or from satellite infrared (IR) data. In most cases, the method was implemented over regions or test areas with an assumed homogeneous climatic character, that is, without a strong spatial variation of the rain regime throughout the test area. In the present paper, the behavior of the ATI method is discussed for a test area displaying two strong gradients of the cumulative annual rainfall: one meridional, at the transition between regions having, respectively, a desertic and an equatorial climate and the other zonal, at the transition between land and sea. The studied area is divided into four subtest areas (north, south, land, and sea) over which the ATI computation is applied separately. The linear coefficient relating the radar-observed area-averaged rain rate and the fractional area where the rain is higher than a threshold calculated over the four subtest areas is found to be almost constant, in agreement with the ergodic character of the rain-rate distribution observed in this region. Similarly, the linear coefficient relating the rain volume over the subtest areas to the IR satellite-derived ATI, a parameter analogous to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Precipitation Index (GPI), is found to be very steady, with a mean value of 3.02 mm h-1 and a coefficient of variation of only 8%. These coefficients, as well as the underlying dynamic and microphysical processes, do not seem significantly influenced by the climatic character, even at a short space scale, in the studied area. The ratio of radar rain areas to cloud areas is, notably, almost constant. For a brightness temperature of 235 K, the ratio of the cloud area to rain area is around 1.68. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines observational evidence of a positive feedback between the land surface and rainfall in semiarid conditions. The novelty of the work lies in the length scale of study, investigating interactions between soil moisture patterns and deep convection at scales of less than 20 km. The feedback mechanism was proposed in a previous study to explain the development of an anomalous rainfall gradient in the West African Sahel. The aim here is to assess whether such rainfall persistence occurs elsewhere in the region. Convective-scale rainfall patterns are examined using two years of observations from a dense rain gauge network in southwest Niger. Rainfall differences are analyzed between neighboring gauges separated by 7.5-15 km. Under certain surface conditions, a positive correlation between daily and antecedent rainfall differences is established. These circumstances arise when previous storm patterns have modified local evaporation rates. Rainfall gradients in subsequent events tend to persist, reinforcing soil moisture patterns. The effect appears to be most pronounced in mature, large-scale storms. The widespread occurrence of persistence in the dataset provides strong observational evidence of a surface feedback mechanism, with surface-induced low-level humidity anomalies locally enhancing convection in passing storms. Several rainfall patterns that persist for a month are identified. These patterns are linked to surface processes and the frequency of storm passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall in the Levant drylands is scarce but can potentially generate high-magnitude flash floods. Rainstorms are caused by distinct synoptic-scale circulation patterns: Mediterranean cyclone (MC), active Red Sea trough (ARST), and subtropical jet stream (STJ) disturbances, also termed tropical plumes (TPs). The unique spatiotemporal characteristics of rainstorms and floods for each circulation pattern were identified. Meteorological reanalyses, quantitative precipitation estimates from weather radars, hydrological data, and indicators of geomorphic changes from remote sensing imagery were used to characterize the chain of hydrometeorological processes leading to distinct flood patterns in the region. Significant differences in the hydrometeorology of these three flood-producing synoptic systems were identified: MC storms draw moisture from the Mediterranean and generate moderate rainfall in the northern part of the region. ARST and TP storms transfer large amounts of moisture from the south, which is converted to rainfall in the hyperarid southernmost parts of the Levant. ARST rainfall is local and intense, whereas TP rainfall is widespread and prolonged due to high precipitation efficiency and large-scale forcing. Thus, TP rainfall generates high-magnitude floods in the largest catchments; integration of numerous basins leads to sediment feeding from the south into the Dead Sea, exhibited in large sediment plumes. Anecdotal observations of the channel with the largest catchment in the region (Nahal HaArava) indicate that TP floods account for noticeable geomorphic changes in the channel. It provides insights into past intervals of increased flash flood frequency characterized by episodes of marked hydrogeomorphic work; such an increase is especially expected during intervals of southerly situated and southwesterly oriented STJs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a Lagrangian particle dispersion model, Flexible Particle (FLEXPART), is employed to simulate the trajectories of global air parcels during 2000-09 with the purpose of revealing the moisture sources of the semiarid grasslands of China, especially on precipitation days. Based on land-cover and precipitation data, two areas of semiarid grasslands are identified: one in North China and one in the Tibetan Plateau. Using the FLEXPART simulation results, air parcels reaching these two target regions are traced back for 10 days to examine their temporal variations in position (longitude, latitude, and altitude) and specific humidity. The moisture sources of these semiarid grasslands are discussed for different precipitation categories. Moreover, the contributions of different moisture sources to the precipitation in the target regions are computed and compared. The results indicate that the moisture released in the target regions is substantially from the Eurasian continent, in both summer and winter. During May-September, the southern and eastern adjacent land areas seem to be the main moisture sources of rainfall in the grasslands of North China, while the Eurasian continent on the north and west tends to be the predominant contributor to the rainfall over the grasslands of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. During October-April, moistures released in both target regions principally originate from the Eurasian continent on the north and west. Overall, although the moisture uptake over oceanic sources is also considerable, most released moisture over the target regions is from the Eurasian continent throughout the year, while little of the contribution of oceanic sources is due to great loss of moisture en route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rain gauge network associated with the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) in southeastern Arizona provides a unique opportunity for direct comparisons of in situ measurements and satellite-based instantaneous rain rate estimates like those from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR). The WGEW network is the densest rain gauge network in the PR coverage area for watersheds greater than 10 km2. It consists of 88 weighing rain gauges within a 149-km2 area. On average, approximately 10 gauges can be found in each PR field of view (~5-km diameter). All gauges are very well synchronized with 1-min reporting intervals. This allows generating very-high-temporal-resolution rain rate fields and obtaining accurate estimates of the area-average rain rate for the entire watershed and for a single PR field of view. In this study, instantaneous rain rate fields from the PR and the spatially interpolated gauge measurements (on a 100 m × 100 m grid, updated every 1 min) are compared for all TRMM overpasses in which the PR recorded rain within the WGEW boundaries (25 overpasses during 1999-2010). The results indicate very good agreement between the fields with low bias values (<10%) and high correlation coefficients, especially for the near-nadir cases (>0.9). The correlation is high at overpass time but the peak occurs several minutes after the overpass, which can be explained by the fact that it takes several minutes for the raindrops to reach the gauge from the time they are observed by the PR. The correlation improves with the new version of the TRMM algorithm (V7). The study includes assessment of the accuracy of the reference products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new subcloud layer evaporation scheme is incorporated into Regional Climate Model, version 3 (RegCM3), to better simulate the rainfall distribution over a semiarid region around Kuwait. The new scheme represents subcloud layer evaporation of convective as well as large-scale rainfall. Model results are compared to observations from rain gauge data networks and satellites. The simulations show significant response to the incorporation of subcloud layer evaporation as a reduction by as much as 20% in annual rainfall occurs over the region. As a result, the new model simulations of annual rainfall are within 15% of observations. In addition, results indicate that the interannual variability of rainfall simulated by RegCM3 is sensitive to the specification of boundary conditions. For example, forcing RegCM3’s lateral boundary conditions with the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data, instead of NCEP–NCAR’s Reanalysis Project 2 (NNRP2), reduces interannual variability by over 25%. Moreover, with subcloud layer evaporation incorporated and ERA-40 boundary conditions implemented, the model’s bias and root-mean-square error are significantly reduced. Therefore, the model’s ability to reproduce observed annual rainfall and the year-to-year variation of rainfall is greatly improved. Thus, these results elucidate the critical role of this natural process in simulating the hydroclimatology of semiarid climates. Last, a large discrepancy between observation datasets over the region is observed. It is believed that the inherent characteristics that are used to construct these datasets explain the differences observed in the annual and interannual variability of Kuwait’s rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]