Role of Electrical Effects in Intensifying Rainfall Rates in the Tropics
Name
Geophysical Research Letters - 2022 - Mudiar - Role of Electrical Effects in Intensifying Rainfall Rates in the Tropics.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.66 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Mudiar, Dipjyoti
Hazra, Anupam
Pawar, SD
Karumuri, Rama Krishna
Konwar, Mahen
Mukherjee, Subrata
Srivastava, Manoj K
Goswami, BN
Williams, Earle
Date Issued
December 28, 2021
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Mudiar, D., Hazra, A., Pawar, S. D., Karumuri, R. K., Konwar, M., Mukherjee, S., et al. (2022). Role of electrical effects in intensifying rainfall rates in the tropics. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2021GL096276.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
In the backdrop of a significant improvement in weather prediction with Numerical Weather Prediction models, quantitative prediction of the intensity of heavy rainfall events and associated disasters has remained a challenge. Encouraged by the recent emergence of compelling observational evidence for a significant electrical influence on cloud/rain microphysical processes (Mudiar, Pawar, Gopalakrishnana et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl093577), here we propose a hypothesis that the modification of the raindrop size distribution (RDSD) towards larger drop sizes facilitated by cloud electric fields could be one factor responsible for realistic rainfall intensity in weather/climate models. The robustness of the proposed hypothesis is confirmed through a series of simulations of strongly electrified rain events with the Weather Research and Forecasting model incorporating the electrically modified RDSD parameters in the model physics. Our results indicate a possible roadmap for improving hazard prediction associated with extreme rainfall events in weather prediction models.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl096276
