A rare winter thunderstorm event near Hong Kong

Chan, P. W.; Hon, K. K.; Li, Qiusheng

doi:10.20937/atm.52840

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Child domain (D02) has the same physics option settings as the parent domain except for turning off the cumulus parameterization option. The domain sizes used in the present study as well as their physical configurations are comparable to studies involving operational NWP model systems reported in the south China region (Chan et al., 2021, 2022; Hon, 2020, 2022).…”

Section: Descriptions Of Wrf Data Assimilation Experimentssupporting

confidence: 81%

Assimilating Sentinel‐3 All‐Sky PWV Retrievals to Improve the WRF Forecasting Performance Over the South China

et al. 2023

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Water vapor is a key driver for the evolution of weather system. To investigate the impact of assimilating Sentinel‐3 precipitable water vapor (PWV) on weather forecasting, Sentinel‐3 PWV retrievals over the South China with two different assimilation schemes are assimilated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. In the first assimilation scheme, only Sentinel‐3 clear‐sky PWV are assimilated, while Sentinel‐3 all‐sky PWV are assimilated for the second assimilation scheme. For both data assimilation schemes, we totally conduct 28 WRF data assimilation runs and forecasts for 28 selected days over two periods, that is, 14 days in March 2020 and 14 days in June 2020. The weather condition in June 2020 is much wetter than March 2020. Generally, assimilating Sentinel‐3 PWV improves the WRF forecasting performance, particularly for June 2020. Assimilation of all‐sky PWV outperforms assimilation of clear‐sky PWV. The comparison results with radiosonde profiles show that assimilating Sentinel‐3 PWV appreciably corrects the bias of WRF water vapor mixing ratio forecasting results for June 2020. The rainfall validation results show that both assimilation schemes show a positive impact in June 2020, but a neutral impact in March 2020. For June 2020, assimilating Sentinel‐3 all‐sky PWV improves rainfall forecast skill score by 2.4%, while the rainfall forecast score is improved by 1.0% after assimilating clear‐sky PWV. Additionally, assimilation of Sentinel‐3 PWV can modify the WRF moisture field, which further improves the rainfall spatial pattern.

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Section: Descriptions Of Wrf Data Assimilation Experimentssupporting

confidence: 81%

Assimilating Sentinel‐3 All‐Sky PWV Retrievals to Improve the WRF Forecasting Performance Over the South China

et al. 2023

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“…The United States Geological Survey 3‐s topography and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer land‐use data, both with local adaptations near Hong Kong and along the South China coastal areas to cater for urbanisation and possible coastline changes, are used. The forecast skill of the AAMC‐WRF has been demonstrated in various contexts, such as tropical cyclones (Hon, 2020), convective weather (Chan et al ., 2020) and aviation turbulence (Hon et al ., 2020). To support various weather forecasting functions at HKO, forecasts fields from AAMC‐WRF are generated at 1‐h intervals.…”

Section: Observation and Simulation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Dropsonde observations and numerical simulations of intensifying/weakening tropical cyclones over the northern South China Sea

Hon

Chan

et al. 2021

Weather

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“…We note, then, that thunderstorms in Greenland took place on average less than once per year, about once every 10 years north of the Arctic circle, once every 6 years at Laurie Island, South Orkneys (60°44′ S), and once every 2 years at Cumberland Bay, South Georgia (54° S; Brooks, 1925). Additionally, winter thunderstorms near Hong Kong occurred on average once every 6.25 years (Chan et al, 2021). More likely, thunderstorms in Summit, Greenland occur more rarely, for example, once every 65–74 years.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, winter and polar thunderstorms, which emerge in cool/cold and dry air flow, have been observed increasingly in Japan, Austria, Israel, Hong Kong, and Arctic (Chan et al, 2021;Chen et al, 2021;Diendorfer et al, 2006;Ganot et al, 2007;Holzworth et al, 2021;Torii et al, 2002). These uncommon thunderstorms have been suggested to be related to the gamma-rays from nuclear facilities (Torii et al, 2002), the updraft of the strong cold air under a cyclone (Diendorfer et al, 2006), winter monsoon (Chan et al, 2021), and the ionosphere (van der Velde et al, 2010). As yet, thunderstorms in Antarctica have not been reported, possibly due to the paucity of monitoring stations there (Holzworth et al, 2021).…”

Section: Scientific Implications and Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructural characterization of depth hoar and ice‐crust layers using a micro‐CT, and hypothesis of ice‐crust formation under a thunderstorm

Li,

Fu,

Keegan

et al. 2023

Hydrological Processes

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The microstructural features typical of depth hoar and ice‐crust layers in both blocks of snow and a firn core that were extracted at Summit, Greenland (72°35′ N, 38°25′ W) in June, 2017 have been characterized using x‐ray microcomputed tomography (micro‐CT). In the depth hoar, the density is much lower, and the porosity, pore sizes, and specific surface area (SSA) are greater than those in adjacent layers. In the ice‐crusts, the density and the particle size are greater, and the porosity, pore size, and SSA are less than those in adjacent layers. Note that the mean structure thickness in the depth hoar was greater than that in adjacent layers, but that increase was simply related to the one‐ or two‐dimension ice crystals, that is, needle‐like or plate‐like structures, being included in the measurements for depth hoar. Using related microstructural parameters derived from the micro‐CT data, we propose a model based on refreezing of pre‐melted water (PMW) droplets electrostatically‐transported by the electric field between thunderclouds and the ice sheet created by a thunderstorm that describes the processes of the ice‐crust formation (ICF). Whether the ice‐crust forms with depth hoar depends on both the kinetic energy from the PMW droplets and the latent heat liberated from the freezing of the PMW. This work is the first to build the relationship between the atmosphere and ice sheets by a thunderstorm. Finally, we provide an experimental geophysics‐based method through the ICF under laboratory conditions to learn more about the interaction between atmospheric electrodynamics and thermodynamics.

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A rare winter thunderstorm event near Hong Kong

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Assimilating Sentinel‐3 All‐Sky PWV Retrievals to Improve the WRF Forecasting Performance Over the South China

Assimilating Sentinel‐3 All‐Sky PWV Retrievals to Improve the WRF Forecasting Performance Over the South China

Dropsonde observations and numerical simulations of intensifying/weakening tropical cyclones over the northern South China Sea

Microstructural characterization of depth hoar and ice‐crust layers using a micro‐CT, and hypothesis of ice‐crust formation under a thunderstorm

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