The heavy rainfall/flood (HRF) event in central Vietnam usually occurs in October-November, the maximum rainfall season. This rainfall maximum undergoes a distinct interannual variation, opposite the interannual variation of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies averaged over the NOAA Niñ o-3.4 area-DSST(Niñ o-3.4)-but coincident with the intensification (weakening) of the low-level easterlies at 158N and westerlies at 58N. The changes of low-level zonal winds reflect the strengthening (weakening) of the tropical cyclonic shear flow in tropical South/Southeast Asia in response to the tropical Pacific SST anomalies. Because the rainfall maximum in central Vietnam is primarily produced by the HRF cyclone, the interannual rainfall variation in this region should be attributed to the HRF cyclone activity-a new perspective of the climate change in precipitation. On average, one HRF cyclone occurs in each cold late fall. The population of the HRF cyclone may not be an important factor causing the interannual rainfall variation in central Vietnam. During the cold late fall, the rain-producing efficiency of the individual HRF cyclone is statistically almost twice those during warm and normal late falls and the most crucial factor leading to the interannual rainfall variation in central Vietnam. It is shown by further hydrological analysis that the increase (decrease) of the HRF cyclone's rain-producing efficiency is determined by the large-scale environmental flow through the enhancement (weakening) of the regional convergence of water vapor flux.

Malaysia is geographically separated into Peninsular Malaysia and west Borneo. The rainfall maximum in the former region occurs during November–December, whereas that in the latter region occurs during December–February. This difference of maximum rainfall period indicates that the formation mechanism is different for the rainfall centers in these two parts of Malaysia. Since rainfall is primarily produced by severe weather systems, the formation of a climatological rainfall center is explored through synoptic activity and the rainfall amount of this center is estimated through contributions by rain-producing disturbances. The major cause of the rainfall maximum of Peninsular Malaysia is cold surge vortices (CSVs) and heavy rainfall/flood (HRF) events propagating from the Philippine area and Borneo. In contrast, the major cause of the rainfall maximum of Borneo is these rain-producing disturbances trapped in Borneo. Disturbances of the former group are formed by the cold surge flows of the Philippine Sea type, whereas disturbances of the latter group are formed by cold surge flows of the South China Sea (SCS) type. The population of HRF events is about one-fourth of the rain-producing disturbances in both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, but they produce less than ~60% rainfall for these two regions. It is revealed from the synoptic and dynamic analyses that the major Borneo rain-producing disturbances propagate westward before December by strong tropical easterlies, but they are trapped after December by strong northeasterlies of the SCS-type cold surge flow.

Examination of the development of cold season heavy rainfall/flood (HRF) events around the South China Sea (SCS) from their parent cold surge vortices (CSVs) shows three new development processes. First, the formation mechanism of the parent CSV of an HRF event [CSV(HRF)] has a preference as to geographic location, flow type of the cold surge inside the SCS, and time of day. The surface trough east of the Philippines, Taiwan, and southern Japan island chain in late fall and the near-equator trough across Borneo in winter facilitate the CSV(HRF) formation in two regions-the vicinity of the Philippines and Borneo. The formation of the Philippine (Borneo) CSV(HRF) occurs at 0600 UTC (0000 UTC) with involvement from the Philippine Sea (PHS)-type (SCS type) of cold surge flow. Second, the flow type of the cold surge determines the CSV(HRF) propagation across the South China Sea. The PHS-type (SCS type) facilitates (hinders) the CSV(HRF) westward propagation. This occurs because the easterly (northerly) flow is greater than (less than) the northerly (easterly) flow at the maximum isotach location of the cold surge flow associated with CSV(HRF) and is centered east of the demarcation line for propagation. This flow-type contrast is substantiated by the vorticity budget analysis for CSV(HRF). The positive 925-hPa vorticity tendency is located west of (coincident with) the 925-hPa vorticity center for the PHS-type (SCS type) of cold surge. Third, the CSV(HRF) development into a HRF event is achieved through multiple interactions of former vortices with sequential cold surges across the South China Sea. The first two CSV(HRF) development processes are reported herein; the last process is presented in Part II.

The 30-31 October 2008 Hanoi, Vietnam, heavy rainfall-flood (HRF) event occurred unusually farther north than other Vietnam events. The cause of this event is explored with multiple-scale processes in the context of the midlatitude-tropical interaction. In the midlatitudes, the cold surge linked to the Hanoi event can be traced westward to the leeside cyclogenesis between the Altai Mountains and Tianshan. This cyclone developed into a Bering Sea explosive cyclone later, simultaneously with the occurrence of the Hanoi HRF event. In the tropics, a cold surge vortex formed on 26 October, south of the Philippines, through the interaction of an easterly disturbance, an already existing small surface vortex in the Celebes Sea, and the eastern Asian cold surge flow. This cold surge vortex developed into a cyclone, juxtaposed with the surface high of the cold surge flow, and established a strong moist southeasterly flow from the South China Sea to Hanoi, which helped maintain the HRF event. Spectral analysis of the zonal winds north and south of the Hanoi HRF cyclone and rainfall at Hanoi reveal the existence of three monsoon modes: 30-60, 12-24, and 5 days. The cold surge vortex developed into an HRF cyclone in conjunction with the in-phase constructive interference of the three monsoon modes, while the Hanoi HRF event was hydrologically maintained by the northwestward flux of water vapor into Hanoi by these monsoon modes.

Environmental conditions for the roughly three million people living in the Taipei basin of Taiwan are greatly affected by the land–sea breeze and afternoon thunderstorm activities. A new perspective on the land–sea breeze life cycle and how it is affected by afternoon thunderstorm activity in the Taipei basin during the dry season is provided. During the summer monsoon break–revival phase, about 75% of rainfall in the Taipei basin is produced by afternoon thunderstorms triggered by sea-breeze interactions with the mountains to the south of this basin. Because the basic characteristics of the land–sea breeze and the changes it undergoes through the influence of afternoon thunderstorms have not been comprehensively analyzed/documented, a mini–field experiment was conducted during the summers of 2004 and 2005 to explore these aspects of the land–sea breeze in this basin. Thunderstorm rainfall is found to change not only the basin’s land–sea-breeze life cycle, but also its ventilation mechanism. On the nonthunderstorm day, the sea breeze supplies the open-sea fresh air for about 8 h during the daytime, but the land breeze persists on the thunderstorm day from afternoon to the next morning, acting to sweep polluted urban air out of the basin.