Increase in tropical cyclone rain rate with translation speed

Shifei Tu; Johnny C L Chan; Jianjun Xu; Quanjia Zhong; Wen Zhou; Yu Zhang

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35113-8

Increase in tropical cyclone rain rate with translation speed

Nat Commun. 2022 Nov 28;13(1):7325. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35113-8.

Authors

Shifei Tu^{1

2

3}, Johnny C L Chan^{4

5

6}, Jianjun Xu^{7

8}, Quanjia Zhong⁹, Wen Zhou^{10

11}, Yu Zhang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ China Meteorological Administration-Guangdong Ocean University (CMA-GDOU) Joint Laboratory for Marine Meteorology & South China Sea Institute of Marine Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China.
² College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China.
³ Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, China.
⁴ Low-Carbon and Climate Impact Research Centre, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. johnny.chan@cityu.edu.hk.
⁵ Shanghai Typhoon Institute, China Meteorological Administration, Shanghai, China. johnny.chan@cityu.edu.hk.
⁶ Asia-Pacific Typhoon Collaborative Research Center, Shanghai, China. johnny.chan@cityu.edu.hk.
⁷ China Meteorological Administration-Guangdong Ocean University (CMA-GDOU) Joint Laboratory for Marine Meteorology & South China Sea Institute of Marine Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China. jxu@gdou.edu.cn.
⁸ Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, China. jxu@gdou.edu.cn.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
¹⁰ Low-Carbon and Climate Impact Research Centre, School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
¹¹ Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

In general, tropical cyclone (TC) rainfall accumulation usually decreases with faster TC translation speed but increases with heavier rain rate. However, how the TC rain rate changes with translation speed is unclear. Here we show that, in all TC basins, the average TC rain rate significantly increases with translation speed. On average, the rain rate in a fast-moving TC is 24% higher than in a slow one. This difference increases with TC intensity, with category 3-5 TCs having a 42% increase while tropical depressions exhibit only a 9% increase. The increase in the average TC rain rate with translation speed is mainly caused by the TC net inflow in the lower troposphere, as well as vertical wind shear. These findings have important implications not only for a deeper understanding of rain rate changes in a translating TC but also for short-term forecasts of TC rainfall and disaster preparedness.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cyclonic Storms*
Disasters*
Rain
Wind