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In this study, the temperature and relative humidity profiles retrieved from five ground-based microwave radiometers in Beijing were assimilated into the rapid-refresh multi-scale analysis and prediction system-short term (RMAPS-ST). The precipitation bifurcation prediction that occurred in Beijing on 4 May 2019 was selected as a case to evaluate the impact of their assimilation. For this purpose, two experiments were set. The Control experiment only assimilated conventional observations and radar data, while the microwave radiometers profilers (MWRPS) experiment assimilated conventional observations, the ground-based microwave radiometer profiles and radar data into the RMAPS-ST model. The results show that in comparison with the Control test, the MWRPS test made reasonable adjustments for the thermal conditions in time, better reproducing the weak heat island phenomenon in the observation prior to the rainfall. Thus, assimilating MWRPS improved the skills of the precipitation forecast in both the distribution and the intensity of rainfall precipitation, capable of predicting the process of belt-shaped radar echo splitting and the precipitation bifurcation in the urban area of Beijing. The assimilation of the ground-based microwave radiometer profiles improved the skills of the quantitative precipitation forecast to a certain extent. Among multiple cycle experiments, the onset of 0600 UTC cycle closest to the beginning of rainfall performed best by assimilating the ground-based microwave radiometer profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the wind fields measured by the meteor radar at Mohe, Beijing, Wuhan, and Sanya stations and horizontal wind model (HWM14) predictions. HWM14 appears to successfully reproduce the height-time distribution of the monthly mean zonal winds, although large discrepancies occur in wind speed between the model and measurement, especially in the summer and winter months. For meridional wind, the consistency between model prediction and radar observation is worse than that of zonal wind. The consistency between radar measurements and model prediction at Sanya station is worse than other sites located at higher latitudes. Harmonic analysis reveals large discrepancies in diurnal, semidiurnal, and terdiurnal tides extracted from meteor radar observations and HWM14 predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Chinese Ka-band solid-state transmitter cloud radar (CR) was employed to investigate clouds and precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in summer 2014. After performing quality control and merging the output from the three work modes of CR, the Doppler spectral density data were analyzed to estimate the vertical air motion (Vair) and particle fall speed (Vfall) in clouds. The reproduced radar reflectivity was employed to retrieve the ice water content (IWC) and ice effective radius (Re). The cloud type classification algorithm was developed to classify cloud conditions into eight different categories. The vertical and daily variations of reflectivity, Vair, Vfall, IWC, and Re were then analyzed, and as a result, four conclusions were formulated. First, the clouds with reflectivity less than −10 dBZ were mainly located above 7 km, and the precipitable particles were formed below this layer (rain echo top) due to the abundant supercooled water therein. Second, the weak updraft in the range of 2–4 km caused the high occurrence of weak clouds during 04:00–12:00 Beijing local time (BT), and the rain echo top did not exceed 7 km due to the existing downdraft in 4–6 km. After 14:00 BT, convective clouds quickly developed, and the averaged updraft, reflectivity, and the echo top notably increased. Third, particular cloud types commonly exhibited weak reflectivity, low IWC, and less vertical variations, while the others more obvious vertical variations with larger IWC and Re. Last, compared with the radar sensitivity and range from radar, Vair biases that were introduced by the Doppler spectra broadening due to turbulence, wind shear, and radar beam width, could be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The values of ratio a of the linear relationship between specific attenuation and specific differential phase vary significantly in convective storms as a result of resonance scattering. The best-linear-fit ratio a at X band is determined using the modified attenuation correction algorithm based on differential phase and attenuation, as well as the premise that reflectivity is unattenuated in S band radar detection. Meanwhile, the systemic reflectivity bias between the X band radar and S band radar and water layer attenuation (ZW) on the wet antenna cover of the X band radar are also considered. The good performance of the modified correction algorithm is demonstrated in a moderate rainfall event. The data were collected by four X band dual-polarization (X-POL) radar sites, namely, BJXCP, BJXFS, BJXSY, and BJXTZ, and a China's New Generation Weather Radar (CINRAD/SA radar) site, BJSDX, in Beijing on 20 July 2016. Ratio a is calculated for each volume scan of the X band radar, with a mean value of 0.26 dB deg−1 varying from 0.20 to 0.31 dB deg−1. The average values of systemic reflectivity bias between the X band radar (at BJXCP, BJXFS, BJXSY, and BJXTZ) and S band radar (at BJSDX) are 0, −3, 2, and 0 dB, respectively. The experimentally determined ZW is in substantial agreement with the theoretically calculated ones, and their values are an order of magnitude smaller than rain attenuation. The comparison of the modified attenuation correction algorithm and the empirical-fixed-ratio correction algorithm is further evaluated at the X-POL radar. It is shown that the modified attenuation correction algorithm in the present paper provides higher correction accuracy for rain attenuation than the empirical-fixed-ratio correction algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates the capability of a cloud model in simulating a real-world tornado using observed radiosonde data that define a homogeneous background. A reasonable simulation of a tornado event in Beijing, China, on 21 July 2012 is obtained. The simulation reveals the evolution of a descending reflectivity core (DRC) that has commonalities with radar observations, which retracts upward right before tornadogenesis. Tornadogenesis can be divided into three steps: the downward development of mesocyclone vortex, the upward development of tornado vortex, and the eventual downward development of condensation funnel cloud. This bottom-up development provides a numerical evidence for the growing support for a bottom-up, rapid tornadogenesis process as revealed by the state-of-the-art mobile X-band phase-array radar observations. The evolution of the simulated tornado features two replacement processes of three near-surface vortices coupled with the same midlevel updraft. The first replacement occurs during the intensification of the tornado before its maturity. The second replacement occurs during the tornado's demise, when the connection between the midlevel mesocyclone and the near-surface vortex is cut off by a strong downdraft. This work shows the potential of idealized tornado simulations and three-dimensional illustrations in investigating the spiral nature and evolution of tornadoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]