Journal of Hydrometeorology

doi: 10.1175/jhm-254mastheadpmid: N/A

Bytheway, Janice L.; Currier, William R.; Abel, Mimi R.; Mahoney, Kelly; Cifelli, Rob

doi: 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0158.1pmid: N/A

AbstractWintertime precipitation poses many observational and forecasting challenges, especially in the complex topography of the western United States where radar beam blockage and difficulty siting in situ observations yields more sparse observations than in the eastern United States. Uncertainty in western U.S. winter precipitation is known to be high, so much so that some studies have found model simulated precipitation to produce similar or better large-scale estimates of annual precipitation than gridded observational products during climatologically anomalous years. This study evaluates high-resolution gridded precipitation estimates from Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) and Stage IV as well as forecasts from NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Gridded precipitation estimates and forecasts are compared with in situ SNOTEL measurements for two seasons of wintertime precipitation. The influence of forecast length, lead time, and model elevation on seasonal precipitation predictions from the HRRR are investigated. Additional comparisons are made with the relatively dense network of observations deployed in Colorado’s East River Watershed during the Study of Precipitation, the Lower Atmosphere and Surface for Hydrometeorology (SPLASH) campaign. Gridded products and forecasts are found to underestimate cold-season precipitation by 25%–65% relative to in situ and aircraft measurements, with longer forecast periods and lead times (6–24 h) having smaller biases (25%–30%) than shorter forecast periods and lead times (55%–65%). The assessment of multiple years of observations indicates that these biases are related more to the data and methods used to create the gridded products and forecasts than to precipitation characteristics.Significance StatementIn the mountainous western United States, it is very challenging to both observe and forecast wintertime precipitation, yet snowfall plays an important role in providing the region’s annual water supply. This study aims to increase our understanding of the biases in observations and forecasts of snowfall in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, which can in turn impact forecasts of water availability for the ensuing warm season. In this study we find high-resolution gridded precipitation estimates and forecasts to underestimate cold-season precipitation when compared with in situ observing stations, with longer-range forecasts (e.g., daily) being the least biased. These findings were consistent over two years of study and have broad implications for the hydrologic modeling and water management communities.

Xiao, Zhuoyong; Zhang, Xinping; Xiao, Xiong; Chang, Xin; He, Xinguang

doi: 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0084.1pmid: N/A

AbstractConvective/advective precipitation partitions refer to the divisions of precipitation that are either convective or advective in nature, relative to the total precipitation amount. These distinct partitions can have a significant influence on the stable isotope composition of precipitation. This study analyzed and compared the effect of precipitation partitions on δ18O in precipitation (δ18Op) by using daily precipitation stable isotope data from Changsha station and monthly precipitation stable isotope data from the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP), under different time scales, time intervals (i.e., annual, warm season, and cold season), and precipitation intensities. The results showed that the correlation between the convective precipitation fraction (CPF) and total precipitation amount was influenced by the intensity of convection in different time intervals. On both the daily and monthly scales, the CPF decreased as the precipitation amount increased in the warm season, while it increased with increasing precipitation amount in the cold season. Regardless of the season, daily δ18Op at Changsha station consistently increased with an increase in daily CPF. On a daily scale, the effect of convective activity on δ18Op was stronger than that of the “precipitation amount effect” in the cold season, as compared to the situation in the warm season. As a result, the regression line slope between δ18Op and CPF increased with increasing precipitation intensity in the warm season, meaning that as the CPF increased, the δ18Op increased at a faster rate under higher precipitation intensity. Similarly, the slope increased with increasing precipitation intensity in the cold season. This suggests that precipitation intensity and convection intensity can affect the relationship between δ18Op and CPF. Our findings shed light on how different precipitation partitions affect stable isotope composition of precipitation, thus enhancing our understanding of the variability of precipitation stable isotopes in the monsoon regions of China.Significance StatementThis study aims to better elucidate the influence of different precipitation partitions on precipitation stable isotopes. In the eastern monsoon region of China, stable isotopes in precipitation showed a robust positive relationship with convective precipitation faction. On a daily scale, the convective activity enhanced the influences of the “precipitation amount effect” on precipitation stable isotopes in the warm season and reduced such influences in the cold season. These results improve our understanding of stable isotopic variability of precipitation in the eastern monsoon region, China.

Tsitelashvili, Nika; Biggs, Trent; Mu, Ye; Trapaidze, Vazha

doi: 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0116.1pmid: N/A

AbstractAnalyzing water resources in areas with few hydrometeorological stations, such as those in post-Soviet countries, is difficult due to station closures after 1989. In Caucasus, evaluations often rely on outdated data from nearby rivers. We evaluated one national-level precipitation dataset, the Water Balance of Georgia (WBG) with two satellite-based precipitation products from 1981 to 2021, including the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data and CHIRPS blended with a dense rain gauge network (geoCHIRPS). We modeled mean annual precipitation from geoCHIRPS as a function of coastal distance and elevation. CHIRPS underestimated precipitation in the cold and wet seasons (R2 = 0.74, r = 0.86) and overestimated dry season precipitation, while geoCHIRPS performed well in all seasons (R2 = 0.86, r = 0.92). Distance from the coast was a more important predictor of precipitation than elevation in western Georgia, while precipitation correlated positively with elevation in the east. At four hydroelectric plants, the underperformance as a percentage of capacity (∼37%) corresponds with the percentage difference between differences in precipitation products (∼38%), suggesting that plants designed based on WBG may be systematically overdesigned, but further work is needed to determine the reasons for the underperformance of the plants and frequency. We conclude that 1) the existing WBG does not accurately reflect elevation–precipitation relationships near the coast, and 2) for accurate analysis of spatiotemporal precipitation variability and its impacts on hydropower generation and environmental and sustainable water resource management, it is essential to calibrate satellite-based precipitation estimates with additional rain gauge data.

Shen, Zhehui; Yong, Bin; Wu, Hao

doi: 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0172.1pmid: N/A

AbstractClimatological calibration algorithm (CCA) and satellite–gauge combination (SG) are two official bias adjustments for satellite precipitation estimates (SPE) in the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA). The CCA is designed for the near-real-time SPEs, while the SG procedure is a final step to merge pure SPEs with gauge observations. This study explored the impacts of CCA and SG on the systematic and random errors of TMPA SPEs. The errors of TMPA version-7 near-real-time products before and after CCA (RT_UC, RT_C), and the research product TMPA 3B42 (V7), were decomposed into systematic and random components, benchmarked by the China Gauge-based Daily Precipitation Analysis (CGDPA). After being calibrated by CCA, RT_C reduced the systematic errors relative to RT_UC over the Chinese mainland, except in the Tibetan Plateau and Tianshan Mountains. However, CCA did not aid in reducing random errors; instead, it even exacerbated the random errors. On the other hand, the SG merging is more effective in reducing systematic errors of SPEs than CCA calibration because of the direct inclusion of simultaneous gauge data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC). We also found that SG merging reduced the random errors of pure SPEs over regions with relatively higher elevations. Despite lower random errors in V7 over the complex terrain region, the SG unfavorably increased the random errors over southeastern China. The results reported here may offer valuable insights into the effects of CCA and SG techniques drawn from TMPA, with the potential to advance the development of bias-adjusting algorithms for SPEs in the future.

Zhou, Yuanyuan; Gao, Liang

doi: 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0095.1pmid: N/A

AbstractThe spatiotemporal variations of annual tropical-cyclone-induced rainfall (TCR) and non-tropical-cyclone-induced rainfall (NTCR) during 1960–2017 in Southeast China are investigated in this study. The teleconnections to sea surface temperature, the Arctic Oscillation, the Southern Oscillation, and the Indian Ocean dipole are examined. A significant decrease in annual TCR in the Pearl River basin was detected, while an increase in annual TCR in rainstorms was observed in the northeast of the Pearl River basin and south of the Yangtze River basin. A northward migration of a TCR belt was identified, which was also indicated by the pronounced anomalies of annual TCR. There was in general an increasing trend of non-tropical-cyclone-induced moderate rain, heavy rain, and rainstorms in Southeast China. Compared with the non-tropical-cyclone-induced heavy rain, the abnormal non-tropical-cyclone-induced rainstorms are more northerly. Both monthly TCR and NTCR were remarkably affected by the Arctic Oscillation, Southern Oscillation, and Indian Ocean dipole. TCR was more easily affected by the Arctic Oscillation compared to NTCR.Significance StatementTropical-cyclone- and non-tropical-cyclone-induced rainfall (TCR and NTCR) prevails in Southeast China, and their characteristics of spatiotemporal variability are of significance in predicting rainfall over the study area. Therefore, this study aims to detect the degree to which rainfall varies in time and space, respectively, using the Mann–Kendall test and the empirical orthogonal function method. Moreover, to explore which climatic factor contributes the most to the spatiotemporal variability of TCR and NTCR, the teleconnections to the large-scale climatic indices including sea surface temperature, the Arctic Oscillation, the Southern Oscillation, and the Indian Ocean dipole are studied. The spatiotemporal variations of TCR and NTCR were affected by the sea surface temperature and the other three large-scale climatic indices. The findings in this study are expected to deepen the understanding of spatiotemporal variations of TCR and NTCR over Southeast China and the teleconnections to climatic indices.

Yuan, Yusen; Wang, Lixin; Wei, Zhongwang; Ajami, Hoori; Wang, Honglang; Du, Taisheng

doi: 10.1175/jhm-d-23-0133.1pmid: N/A

AbstractThe isotopic composition of evapotranspiration δET is a crucial parameter in isotope-based evapotranspiration (ET) partitioning and moisture recycling studies. The Keeling plot method is the most prevalent method to calculate δET, though it contains large extrapolated uncertainties from the least squares regression. Traditional Keeling regression uses the mean point of individual measurements. Here, a modified Keeling plot framework was proposed using the median point of individual measurements. We tested the δET uncertainty using the mean point [σET (mean)] and median point [σET (median)]. Multiple resolutions of input and output data from six independent sites were used to test the performance of the two methods. The σET (mean) would be greater than σET (median) when the mean value of inverse vapor concentration (1/Cυ¯) is greater than the median value of inverse vapor concentration [1/Cυ(median)]. When applying the filter of r2 > 0.8, around 70% of σET (mean) was greater than σET (median). This phenomenon might be due to the normality of the vapor concentration Cυ producing the asymmetric distribution of 1/Cυ. The median method could perform significantly better than the mean method when inputting high-resolution measurements (e.g., 1 Hz) and when the water vapor concentration Cυ is relatively low. Compared to the mean method, applying the median method could on average reduce 6.88% of ET partitioning uncertainties and could on average reduce 9.00% of moisture recycling uncertainties. This study provided a new insight of the Keeling plot method and emphasized handling model output uncertainty from multiple perspectives instead of only from input parameters.