Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies

Abstract: Mexico and Central America (Mesoamerica) are situated in a complex and unique geographical position with the Caribbean Sea to the East and the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean to the West. The weather patterns of this region are driven by winds, temperatures, moisture, and orography of several mountain ranges. This study finds the dates of the onset and demise of rainfall regimes on a specific day using NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall for years 1998–2012, area-averaged over land. Using NASA’s MERRA-2 Reanalysis data, we also look at the phenomenology of the triggers of the rainy season onset and demise on the daily time-scale instead of the monthly scales used by previous studies.
We find that the Mesoamerican Rainy Season can be distinguished into two parts: the Early Spring Rainfall (ESR) associated with light rains and the Late Spring Rainfall (LSR) associated with heavy rains. Two algorithms are used to obtain these rainy season distinctions. A new algorithm was developed during this study, called the SLOPE algorithm, to calculate when the rain rates first start to increase. In the second method, the daily cumulative anomalies of rainfall are compared to the climatological rainfall to find the time of onset of the heavy rains, called the MINCA algorithm. To better understand the phenomenology associated with the timing of the rainfall, we look at the monsoon trough, moisture flux convergence, moist static energy anomalies, and the weakening/strengthening of the winds associated with the Caribbean Low-Level Jet and Panama Jet.
The light rain rates begin, on average, in mid-March, approximately one month after the peak of the winter Caribbean Low-Level Jet and the Panama Jet. The ramp-up between the light rains and heavy rains is associated with a significant weakening of both jets and the northward progression of a monsoon trough off the western coast of Central America. The heavy rain rates begin, on average, in mid-May, and are associated with the timing when the Panama Jet goes to near zero magnitude and a strong monsoon trough in the eastern Pacific. At the demise of the rainfall, approximately in mid-November, the Panama Jet strengthens again, the total moisture flux convergence decreases significantly, and the monsoon trough retreats southward and eastward. The results of this study have positive implications in agriculture and water resources for Mesoamerica, as this information may help resource managers better plan and adapt to climate variability.

Abstract: A composite study is presented analyzing the influence of upper-tropospheric troughs on the evolution of precipitation in twelve Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs) between the years 2000 � 2005. The TRMM Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) is used to examine the enhancement of precipitation within a 24 h window centered on trough interaction (TI) time in a shear-vector relative coordinate system. Eddy angular momentum flux convergence (EFC) computed from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analyses is employed to objectively determine the initiation of a TI while adding insight, along with vertical wind shear, into the intensification of TC vortices. The relative roles of the dynamics (EFC and vertical wind shear) and thermodynamics (moist static energy potential) in TIs are outlined in the context of precipitation enhancement that provides quantitative insight into the “good trough”/“bad trough” paradigm. The largest precipitation rates and enhancements are found in the down-shear left quadrant of the storm, consistent with previous studies of convective asymmetries. Maximum mean enhancement values of 1.4 mm/h are found at the 200 km radius in the down-shear left quadrant. Results indicate that the largest precipitation enhancements occur with “medium” TIs; comprised of EFC values between 17 � 22 (m/s)/day and vertical wind shear Sensitivity tests on the upper vertical wind shear boundary reveal the importance of using the tropopause for wind shear computations when a TC enters mid-latitude regions. Changes in radial mean precipitation ranging from 29 � 40 % across all storm quadrants are found when using the tropopause as the upper boundary on the shear vector. Tests on the lower boundary using QuikSCAT ocean surface wind vectors expose large sensitivities on the precipitation ranging from 42 � 60 % indicating that the standard level of 850 hPa, outside of the boundary layer in most storms, is more physically reliable for computing vertical wind shear. These results should help to improve TC quantitative precipitation forecasting (QPF) as operational forecasters routinely rely on crude statistical methods and rules of thumb for forecasting TC precipitation.